A Life of Lies, a World of Truths
by sweetdesserts
Summary: Alex has just gotten back from Australia, what happens when an old enemy...or friend comes back from the dead? Will old friendships be rekindled or will old adversaries be reunited? Read and Review please! Post Snakehead! COMPLETE! SEQUEL IS UP!
1. Prologue

**Okay, this is my first fanfic; so don't bug me if it's not that good! Post Snakehead.**

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Alex walked casually through the maze of hallways at the hospital. He had flown back home and it was nice to be living in a house again. It had been a few days since Sabina left, so far, MI6 had left him alone since the business with Snakehead and he was glad for the privacy. Jack was quite happy that he was safe, for once, but of course, Alex knew that this short-lived time of peace would not last very long. When he got to the door he was looking for, he paused for a second, and then quietly peeked inside.

"Hi Fox" Alex addressed the man sitting in the bed, "how are you doing?"

"Hey Cub, okay I guess, but I've seen better days!" The man called Fox, also known as Ben Daniels, was a member of an elite SAS military group, who had been shot during operation Snakehead. "How are you?"

"Pretty good, anything new?" Alex felt a little awkward standing there stupidly in front of Fox like that.

"I gotta ask you something," he seemed to consider a moment then made up his mind, "the man I shot in the control room, I heard you talking to him before I passed out, I heard voices, but I couldn't distinguish any words, did you know him?"

Alex took a deep breath, "Yeah…umm…" he looked down, unsure of how to continue, the he closed his eyes and went on, "h he was…my godfather." Alex finished, his voice barely a whisper.

Wolf's eyes widened in shock, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mea…"

"It's okay," Alex cut in before he could finish, "he was a traitor to me, my father and MI6." Saying those words somehow made him a little angry, when Fox raised an eyebrow in question, Alex calmed down and continued to explain, "He killed my father, leaked classified information from the ASIS to Scorpia and nearly got me killed."

"Some godfather," Fox muttered with disgust in his voice, "so, what are you planning to do now?"

"I really don't know," Alex admitted, he hadn't really thought about it yet. He assumed that he would go back to school and enjoy life, but now he was on break and Sabina had already left. Then he joked, "I could wait for MI6 to send me on another mission!"

"Haw haw, very funny," Fox said sarcastically, "seriously, got any plans?"

Alex thought for a moment then remembered something, "Actually, once you can leave, we're supposed to see Blunt for some reason."

"I can leave now," he started to get up, "let's go."

"Not so fast," Alex got up and pushed him back down, "he wants to wait until you can go back into the field."

"Alex," Fox said reassuringly, "I can already go back, I was supposed to be released anyway."

"WHAT!!! Why doesn't anybody tell me these things?!" Alex shouted, and then relented, "Fine, lets go."

After they checked out of the clinic, they headed for "Royal and General Bank".

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"Hello Alex, welcome back!" Mrs. Jones greeted him as he walked through the door. "How are you feeling Mr. Daniels?"

"Great, it's nice to be out again." He admitted.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the phone rang. "Hello," Mrs. Jones answered, "…mhmm… they're here…of course…very well… okay, send them up." She put the phone back and looked up, "We will be having some guests."

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After a short while, the rest of the SAS team walked through the doors; Wolf, Eagle and Snake. "Alright, glad you could make it boys," Mrs. Jones was eager to get right down to business, "I have requested that you all be assigned specifically for your next mission…Alex," she nodded her head towards him, "is in trouble and he needs to be under guard 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Eagle spoke up, "What's so bad that you can't just set up some cameras?"

"Because," Mrs. Jones continued with a sudden coldness in her voice, "of this…"

She slid a manila folder in front of them onto the table and opened it. There was a picture sitting on top of the pile of papers and it was dated two days ago. The man in the photograph made Alex draw a quick breath and his mouth fell open in shock.

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_So, what do you think? I would love some feedback! Thanks_


	2. Quite a Shock

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider (I didn't say that last time, sorry)**

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Staring back at him was Yassen Gregorovich, the very same that had died aboard Air Force one. The very same that told Alex to find Scorpia and the very same that was trained by his father.

Alex stayed like that for quite a while, until Eagle asked him why he was so shocked. "Hey Cub, you alright, you look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I feel like I have," he snapped out of his trance, "Yassen Gregorovich died, I was there, he spoke his last words to me, I saw him close his eyes!!!" Alex was whispering, hardly believing that he, Yassen Gregorovich, had somehow survived AND slipped past MI6.

"Wait a minute," Wolf was confused, along with the rest of the SAS team, "we were told he died in a plane crash."

"He did…not really…he was shot, and then the plane crashed, I think…I dunno, I passed out too." Alex could hardly choke out the words, _how could he have survived, I saw him slip away, I saw him die!_

"How do you know this," questioned Eagle, "surely you weren't there!"

"Yeah, I was," Alex was still staring at the blue eyes of the man in the photograph, not once looking up while he was talking, "let's just say, to make a long story short, that Yassen died trying to save me."

"WHAT??!!" Everybody, even Mrs. Jones, who had been silently evaluating Alex's reaction, exclaimed.

"Alex," Mrs. Jones said sternly, "you didn't tell me the entire story didn't you?"

"As you well know, the first time I met him was during operation Stormbreaker. The second time I met him was before Sabina got her house blown up, then I met him again shortly after, and finally I met him again working with Damian Cray." Everything was coming out in a rush; Alex just wanted to spit it out. "They took Sabina and I aboard Air Force One and Cray ordered Yassen to kill us and he said, "I do not kill children." He'd already said it once before and that time I finally believed him. After that, Cray shot him, somehow I managed to throw Cray out of the plane, and then Sabina hit the self-destruct button to deactivate the missiles and Yassen told me about my dad. He didn't seem to have enough life in him and he couldn't really explain, but he said he loved my father…and he loved me…and…you know what happened after that…" Alex allowed himself to leave his sentence hanging, not really ready to look at anybody yet, he lowered his eyes once again to the cold eyes of the Russian in the photograph.

The SAS team was in shock, all they knew of Yassen was that he was the number one assassin in the world, cold-hearted, merciless, and was nearly impossible to catch. They found it amazing that he had been "_killed"_ defending a 14-year-old boy.

"Why did 't you tell us Alex," Mrs. Jones inquired gently, "It could have saved us a lot of trouble."

"I didn't think I was ready," Alex admitted, "it was all so confusing, I didn't know whether to believe him or not. I knew so little about my parents and it was just so hard to think that my dad was an assassin…everybody always said I was a splitting image of him. If he was an assassin, what does that make me?" He finally found the courage to look up and looked Mrs. Jones dead in the eye, "Then Ash came along and told me about Medina, he told me about Yassen's life, or what little he knew about him, he told me how he himself had betrayed MI6, the ASIS and joined SCORPIA because Yassen had ruined his first solo mission, and finally, he told me how he had killed my parents." At that last statement, Alex was fighting to keep back tears.

"Even if what you said is true," Mrs. Jones went on with her briefing, "I still want you under 24 hour surveillance, we can't trust Yassen, he may go after you Alex, we can't risk that."

"What do you mean," Alex was now just as confused as everyone else in the room,

"This picture was taken in Venice," Mrs. Jones nodded in affirmation at the photograph, "He was most likely in contact with Scorpia. Just recently, we have had new information that he has bought plane tickets to London, he is arriving today, and that has been the cause of the alarm. We don't want you to get hurt Alex, we've already put you through too much."

"You don't want me too get hurt or you can't have me getting hurt so you can use me again for some godforsaken mission that is a even more dangerous than snakehead!" For some reason, he felt angry that they only cared about his safety for the job and not at all for his well-being.

"Alex," Wolf finally spoke up, "Why are you acting like this, Mrs. Jones is offering you safety and you go on turning it down. Would you rather be stubborn and die or would you swallow your pride and accept this VERY generous offer?"

"You don't understand Wolf…none of you do," Alex was mumbling quietly, everyone had to strain to hear him, "Yassen is the last link to my past, my parents, I actually feel a connection to him. He sacrificed HIMSELF for ME. Even Ash, he said that my dad really like him and he said that we were so alike; both of us lost our parents, we're both naturals in this line of work, and we are both very hard to kill."

"Alex, even if you know him that way, he may have changed," Fox pointed out, "He's very unpredictable."

"Please Alex," Mrs. Jones looked to him as well, "we are doing this for your own safety."

Alex considered for a moment, and then sighed, "I guess I don't have much of a choice," his voice suddenly developed a steely quality to it, "Just like I never do. Fine, I'll play along, but I can't say that I'll be easy to look after!"

Snake narrowed his eyes and spoke for the first time, "What are you getting at."

Alex smiled mischievously, "I just said that I can sometimes be hard to keep track of."

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So, what do ya think? Okay, so-so, oh well, I guess I'm doing my best. Thank you for the review dwtrojans and Silver Queen, advice and suggestions will be accepted happily.


	3. Getting Settled

**This is the longest chapter I've written, thank you for all the reviews and favs!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or any other characters affiliated with the series, if I did, I would bring Yassen Gregorovich back to life.**

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_Alex considered for a moment, and then sighed, "I guess I don't have much of a choice," his voice suddenly developed a steely quality to it, "Just like I never do. Fine, I'll play along, but I can't say that I'll be easy to look after!"_

_Snake narrowed his eyes and spoke for the first time, "What are you getting at."_

_Alex smiled mischievously, "I just said that I can sometimes be hard to keep track of."_

Mrs. Jones narrowed her eyes when he said this, "Alex," she was speaking in her normal tone again, neutral and all business, the scent of peppermint gently permeating the air around her, "This is serious, one wrong move and you could be in big trouble. If you're planning to fool around, this is not the time!"

"I never said that I was going to fool around," Alex defended himself, "I just said I can be hard to keep track of!"

"Fine, have it your way." Mrs. Jones, sighed, there really was no reason for her to argue about irrelevant things. "Then why don't you head on back home. K-Unit, you will patrol the house in shifts, if anything is to happen, all of you, including Miss Starbright, are to move to a MI6 safe house nearby."

"Got it Mrs. Jones," Fox reassured her, "We won't let anything happen to Cub."

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The group got into a car, provided by MI6, and drove to Alex's house. It was fairly large, and seemed just big enough to fit everybody. When they reached the front door, it flew open. Jack was standing there, a severe look on her face and a worried expression in her eyes. "Oh gods Alex, Blunt just called me and told me about the secu…" She paused when she saw who was with him.

"Hey Jack," Alex wasn't sure how to continue, "Um…yeah…K-Unit, meet my guardian, Jack Starbright, Jack, meet K-Unit. This is Wolf, Fox, Snake, and Eagle."

"So you four are the trained SAS military professionals here to "guard" Alex from one of the worlds top assassins?" Jack looked skeptical, she seriously doubted that this was going to work out and she made no effort to hide her contempt.

"Yes Ja…uh…Miss Starbright, I assure you, Alex will be in perfectly safe hands." Fox snapped.

"Fine," she sighed, "Well come on in and I'll show you where to put your stuff."

She lead the three men up to the two spare rooms upstairs, "I'm sorry, it looks like two of you will have to share a room."

"Actually, we might just use one room." When Jack raised an eyebrow, Wolf hurriedly continued to explain. "In case of an emergency, we need to act fast, close quarters means easier communication."

"Okay, fine with me," then she narrowed her eyes, smirking and added, "But if anything happens to Alex, I will kill you. He's been through a lot this past year and I don't want this to affect him too much, ya hear?"

"Yes Miss Starbright, of course Miss Starbright." Fox kept his composure, even though he didn't really know what Alex had been through, "Don't worry about Alex."

"Dinner will be in half an hour, don't be late." Jack turned to leave and then turned another 180 degrees, "And please call me Jack, _Miss Starbright_ is just too formal." With that, she left.

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Dinner looked delicious; fried potatoes, steak, salad, and freshly baked bread.

"I hope my cooking isn't too bad," Jack was trying to end the uncomfortable silence at the table, "It's a new recipe and I decided to try it out."

"It's great, don't worry about us Mis…Jack," Eagle responded with a full mouth.

"Yeah," Fox added, "You should have seen what they fed us in the army!"

"So," Wolf seemed curious, like everybody else at the table, "Cub…uh…how are you?"

"Fine," Alex mumbled, he wasn't too keen on sharing his personal life with everybody. After his little outburst in Blunt's office, he wasn't too happy he revealed so much.

"You know," Wolf continued, seeming to ignore Alex's sudden glare in his direction, "I don't think I've ever heard you say so much about your life until the meeting, have you finally decided to open up?"

Alex fumed silently, _he can get under my skin so much, argh_, he smiled innocently "Nope, my little speech back there was completely due to shock and confusion…" Then his face hardened and he became serious, "it won't happen again."

"Why are you so secretive?" Eagle now sounded genuinely curious and Jack was getting the feeling that this conversation wasn't going as planned.

"Um…looks like everybody is done eating," She said purposefully, "Let's clean up."

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**Back in K-Unit's temporary room:**

"So," Wolf addressed the group, "What are we going to do to find out more about Cub? I think we pushed him too hard today."

"What do you me "find out more"? Why would we need to?" Fox was confused.

"Because," Wolf was getting agitated, was he the only one that actually used their brain around here? "Remember the meeting, Cub said specifically, _I can be hard to keep track of_. If he gets away and manages to hurt himself, I can only imagine how angry Jones and Blunt would be…and Jack of course."

"So you're saying that we need to know his full capabilities?" Snake said, finally getting the point.

"Yeah, once we know what he can do, we'll know what to expect and if we know what to expect, then we know wha…" Wolf went on with his briefing, but was cut off by Fox.

"Then we know what to do!" Fox was serious though, "How are we going to find out about him, look for a biography on his life or something?"

"Not quite what I had in mind, but close." Wolf was considering, "MI6 would surely have a file of every mission he's been on and they might even have one on family history and his younger years too."

"All we have to do is excess that file then," Eagle was thinking now too, "That shouldn't be too hard."

"What!?" Wolf looked shocked, "Are you just super smart or am I stupid?"

"Well, you have codes to the fil…" Eagle was saying it as if it was obvious.

Wolf relaxed slightly, "I tried that already, the "top secret" files are highly protected."

"Oh, we'll think of something," Snake suggested, "But for now, let's play it safe, we don't want Cub to suspect anything."

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Just outside the bedroom door, a figure moved quietly towards a room at the end of the hall. _Too late_ thought Alex Rider, _I've already got a plan._

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I don't really think it's the best, nothing really happened. Although, I think it was necessary to move the plot along. I think I'm finally getting over writer's block, PLEASE say I am. I hope you liked it, if not I'm sorry, I've been really busy lately and I have to cut into homework time to work on this. Reviews are appreciated greatly, actually, on second thought, please review smiles sweetly! If you don't I'll come and haunt you in your sleep glares evilly! (That WAS a joke, please don't take it offensively!)


	4. Plans

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider; I do however claim ownership of this story.**

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Sorry this took me so long guys, I think my writer's block got worse over the past few days, but I know how much you guys wanted an update, so here you go. I'm really sorry if this sucks as much as the last one, but I'm trying my best!

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_Just outside the bedroom door, a figure moved quietly towards a room at the end of the hall. _Too late_ thought Alex Rider, _I've already got a plan

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Alex crept quietly to his room and lied down on his bed. To say that he had a plan might be a bit of an exaggeration, _I have to figure out what K-Unit is planning, when I know that, I can form a plan from there._ _Oh_ _well, I guess that I'll just have to wait it out._

Then his thoughts drifted back to the meeting, "How could Yassen Gregorovich be alive," he mused quietly to himself, "He was shot in the chest, I was so close to death when that happened to me. How could he have lived without proper medical attention for that long?" Either way, from what he could interpret and what Ash had told him, he knew that Yassen wasn't totally evil. _Also, I couldn't get hurt, "he doesn't kill children". _Alex allowed a small smile to play across his features at the thought, _but does he know that my dad was an MI6 operative?_

Alex started talking to himself again, "If he was in Venice, then he must've been in contact with Scorpia. They would've told him that my dad betrayed them, or did they not know either? From what Ash said," Alex was deep in thought, "it was Mrs. Rothman who had ordered that his parents be killed, maybe, just maybe, she hadn't told anybody else. Even so, I need to find Yassen…I need to know what he's planning, knowing him, it can't be good."

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**The next morning: Breakfast:**

"Yup," Wolf looked up from the laptop he had been typing furiously on, "Cossack is in London, he arrived at two o'clock this morning. We'd better get ready."

"_Cossack_," Eagle inquired, saying it a few times, "What type of name is that?"

Wolf shrugged, "That's what Jones told me to call him."

This time, Alex answered, "It's the code name he chose when he was still training."

Snake raised an eyebrow and questioned, "And you know this how…?"

Alex glared at him lightly, "How I know stuff doesn't concern you, does it?" Alex was sick and tired of being probed at all day.

"Okay, sorry," Snake lifted his hands in the air, "I was just wondering!"

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Alex had spent most of the day in solitude; Jack went out shopping, K-Unit was patrolling the house and Fox, who was on break, was taking a nap.

"Hey Cub," Fox, who _was_ "sleeping" suddenly appeared in the doorway, "can we talk?"

"Actually Ben, do you mind," Alex was lying down the couch reading the James Bond series, "I'm kinda busy right now."

"Nope, I don't mind," Fox continued, apparently not getting the point Alex was trying to convey.

Alex sighed, putting the book down, "What do you want?" In truth, he didn't really mind either, the book was so cheesy, plenty of guns and ammo, but it was just so action packed, it didn't seem realistic! Every page he found something hilarious that just he just couldn't help it, he broke into a fit of laughter. _Wow, these people must really be stupid, I mean, how can an MI6 operative do such a thing!?_

"Why can't you tell us about your life," Fox seemed genuinely curious, "I mean, are you like forbidden to tell us or something or do just not want to?"

Alex frowned, he should have seen this coming, "I don't really like people digging around finding stuff about my personal life, and let alone just head on tell people."

Fox narrowed his eyes when he mentioned "digging around", "I was just curious, you're the only teenage spy in the world and stuff, ya know?"

Alex stared at Fox, "No I don't know," he said flatly, "Why are you so curious?"

Fox seemed a little taken back by the blunt question, "I just think it's…uh…kinda… um…weird that they would send a teenager on all of those…missions." Fox was at a loss for words, he couldn't just tell their plan of "finding out his capabilities" to him!

"Uh huh, same old, same old," Alex was getting tired of that excuse, "Well too bad, 'cause I'm not gonna tell you, so good luck finding out on your own!"

With that, he left, leaving Fox to ponder on the words that the 14-year-old had chosen._ "digging around", "I'm not gonna tell you", "good luck finding out on your own"_ If he had to bet $1000.00, he would have sworn that the boy had listed in on the conversation that K-Unit had last night. "Alex Rider," he mused to himself, trying to fit together the pieces of the puzzled, "What are you up to now."

There was a quick knock at the door, "GOT IT!" Alex yelled to nobody in particular.

Upon yanking the door open, he sighed, "Oh, it's just you guys," Tulip Jones and Alan Blunt walked into the foyer.

"Is Miss Starbright home?" Mr. Blunt didn't bother being polite.

"No," was Alex's short response, "Is something wrong?"

"Of course not Alex," Mrs. Jones responded gently, "We would like to talk with K-Unit…in private please."

Alex sighed again; he must've sighed more times in the past few days than he ever had in his life, "Fine."

On his way up the stairs, he stopped and listened to the conversation. After waiting for about five minutes, the six of them finally started talking. "We have found the whereabouts of Cossack." Blunt started, rather bluntly.

"He is currently staying at a hotel," Mrs. Jones then took up the briefing, "_La Maison de Guerre_, it's French for "the house of war", an odd name for a hotel I know, but quite a fitting one considering Yassen."

"Yes indeed," Blunt took charge again. "He is registered under the name of _Evan Dimitri_. So far, he hasn't been associated with anything…illegal yet."

"Here is the file," Jones then pulled another manila folder from her handbag. "Everything you need to know on Cossack, family history, accomplishments, dealings, and…uh…future exploits. Also, there is the address and phone number of the hotel."

"Thank you Mrs. Jones," Wolf was the first to speak, "Can we, by any chance, have a file of Alex's life?"

"Why would you want that?" Mrs. Jones always had a soft spot for Alex and she knew that he didn't like people knowing what he'd been through.

"Well, you know," Snake said carefully, "For security reasons."

Blunt nodded, "All right, one of you stop by tonight and we'll give it to you then."

_Finally, a break through,_ Alex crept up to his room and sat down on his bed to think. _I need to sneak a look at that file…or I could just look up the address on the Internet. _"Okay," Alex had a triumphant smile plastered on his face while he added the final touches to his plan, "This is just too easy, when one of them goes to get the file, then the three that are left would be on patrol duty. That's when I leave, that's when I show them what "I'm capable of."

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_Pretty boring huh? Yeah, I was really disappointed, oh well the next chapter will be up really soon! Reviews are appreciated, especially now that my writer's block is getting worse._

1,274 words in this chappie!


	5. A Midnight Adventure

**Disclaimer: I do own Alex Rider!! HAHA **

**gets swamped by cops and national security**

**OKAY, OKAY, I DON'T OWN ALEX RIDER, HE BELONGS TO ANTHONY HOROWITZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!!!!!**

**AH: Yes, he does belong to me, doesn't he. smirks**

**Me: Argh, he'll be mine sooner or later! Yassen will be mine too…god that sounds wrong!**

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_Finally, a break through,_ Alex crept up to his room and sat down on his bed to think. _I need to sneak a look at that file…or I could just look up the address on the Internet._

"Okay," Alex had a triumphant smile plastered on his face while he added the final touches to his plan, "When one of them goes to get the file, then, the three that are left

would be on patrol duty. That's when I leave, that's when I show them what "I'm capable of."

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After Blunt and Jones had left, K-Unit went back to patrolling and this time Fox went to the living room to read the file. "Hey Fox," Alex called out, "Can I see the file too?"

"Nope, sorry," Fox did not actually seem sorry, "Blunt's order's!"

"Humph, fine," Alex was not unduly surprised, "Okay then, I'm gonna use the laptop!"

Fox narrowed his eyes but agreed, "Fine, don't go on any inappropriate websites."

Alex raised an eyebrow, but sat down and put the laptop in his lap. He was situated in front of a window, thankfully, the blinds were drawn and he was sitting facing Fox, so the screen was pointing away from him. _Press the ON button, open Internet Explorer, La Maison de Guerre, aha, there it is! Phase one: complete,_ Alex thought smugly to himself.

When he was sure that Fox wasn't looking, the snuck the post-it note from his pocket and his mini pen and copied the address down. _Okay, lets show you guys how clever I am…computer history, today, right click, and delete history! Viola, genius isn't it?_ Then, to make sure that his plan was fool proof, he went on some educational sights to cover his trail.

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**After dinner: 8 o'clock-**

"I'm going to _the_ bank," Snake said, emphasizing "the" and went to get his coat.

"Why?" Alex was putting on his role of the clueless teenager again.

"I have to go…um…get an update on security." Snake said nervously.

"Fine then, go ahead." Alex was utterly confident that his plan was going to work now.

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A few minutes after Alex watched the car disappear from view, he went up to his room to change. Walking quietly to his wardrobe, he pulled out a black hooded sweatshirt, no logos, and a pair of black cargo pants. Both were lightweight and warm, plus, Alex had recently discovered that he looked quite nice in black, _comes with the job I guess_. He then reached to a backpack and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, but they weren't just that, they were night vision goggles. Alex smirked, he had seen them while shopping one day with Sabina and managed to buy them, _I knew these would come in handy. _

Alex crept down the stairs and reached the front door, he wondered if there would be anyone patrolling outside. _Hmmm, I'll need a distraction._ With that thought, he strode into the kitchen to find it empty. Jack just happened to be sleeping upstairs; she was exhausted from a day of running around from shop to shop. He took two of the heaviest pots he could find and brought them upstairs.

He set the pots carefully on his bed and turned off all the lights. Then, pulling up the blinds, he quietly opened the window and then the screen. Poking his head out, he could see clearly in the dark, everything was green, because of his new goggles, but he could see every detail. Soon, he spotted Fox coming over, just doing his duty patrolling the house, _this is gonna be wild._

Quickly bringing the two pots over by the window, careful not to make a sound, he waited until the right moment. WHAM!!! Alex threw the pot out the window onto Fox's head; it knocked him unconscious instantly, but all the while, making a loud clanging sound. _Good_, thought Alex smugly,_ that's why I brought the other one too_. He saw Wolf running up with a flashlight, "Fox, what happened!"

When he saw a pot lying on the ground, realization dawned on him. Just as he was reaching for his radio, he felt something strike his head, hard, and he too slumped onto the ground. When the pot was a few feet from Wolf's head, Alex dashed down the stairs and raced to the door. Thankfully, the window in his room was facing the backyard, so his escape would be clear. Upon sprinting down the driveway though, he heard Eagle crashing through the bushes behind him, sounding thoroughly winded.

"Darn," muttered Alex, pushing himself to go faster, "Shouldn't he have tended to Fox and Wolf first?"

As he neared an intersection, Alex spotted a van turning along side him and with a final burst of energy, jumped onto the back.

When he turned around to make sure he wasn't being followed, he saw the unbelievable. Eagle was standing over a motorcycle, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. _Argh, why are there always complications to an otherwise perfect plan?_

Acting quickly, he jumped off the back of the van, rolling onto the sidewalk and into some bushes while Eagle was still busy starting up the motor. He settled down just in time to see Eagle speeding up behind the van, only find out that nobody was there. Smirking, Alex moved quickly to the shadows where he would be invisible. He turned around a few blocks, being completely familiar with this part of London, he wasn't afraid of getting lost.

After wandering for about 20 minutes, according to his watch, he suddenly heard engines. Silently cursing himself for enjoying the sights and not finishing his mission, he ran. Turning his head slightly, he caught sight of 3 motorcycles racing towards him.

Taking a series of elaborate turns and ducking around corners, he effectively led K-Unit around in circles. He finally found a spot that suited him, behind a trashcan, as Fox, Wolf, and Eagle approached, he heard them speaking, "Where'd he go now?" It was Wolf, and he did NOT sound happy. "I swear if he did this to play games, I will kill him!"

Alex slowly reached behind him and grabbed hold of a rock, flinging it across the street; it crashed into a streetlight with a loud bang. "Let's go then," Fox added wearily. Alex sighed in relief as they drove off in the other direction.

Now, he headed straight to his destination, _La Maison de Guerre_, a left turn here, a right turn there, a u-turn here and he reached the building. Even from the outside it looked expensive. Built like a cathedral, it had spires and towers, it looked a century old, but it was only constructed in 1968. This late at night, he didn't think that it would be open, but surprisingly, the doors were unlocked.

There was a tired looking receptionist sitting at the front desk. She looked about 22ish and seemed too sleepy to care about anything. He strode purposefully towards her, "Hello, my name is Alex Dimitri, could you tell me what room my dad is in? I just came from Paris and he didn't tell me what room number he was."

The receptionist looked skeptical, but looked anyway, "Dimitri…Dimitri…hmmm…he is in room 149…does he know you're coming?"

"Of course he knows I'm coming, he's my FATHER!!!" Alex shouted, he was rather good at acting, "And I called him this morning."

The rather shocked receptionist nodded and handed him a set of keys. "Welcome, we hope your stay at La Maison de Guerre is comfortable, enjoy!"

"Thank you," Alex said tersely, "Would you _kindly _tell me where room 149 is?"

"Straight to your left, second floor." The receptionist answered automatically.

-------------------------------

After climbing a set of stairs and working his way through a labyrinth of hallways, he finally found the room he was looking for. As quietly as possible, he slid they keys into the door and opened it.

The room it led to a well-furnished room, it was the kitchen, supplied with a sink, oven, stovetop and cabinets. In the middle was a table, and sitting at the table was Yassen Gregorovich, the very man that had started all this trouble.

As soon as Alex entered, he looked up, his ice blue eyes studying him carefully, "Hello Alex," He said with is cold, emotionless voice, "what a surprise."

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_Two chapters in one day, I told you I'd update soon. This one has a little action in it, so I hope you're happy. I wrote this in less than 2½ hours, so sorry if it's a little…um…sucky. _

_-----------------------------------------------_

_La Maison de Guerre is a made up place, so don't go trying to find it._

_-----------------------------------------------_

_Please review!_

_Do you want Yassen to be nice or mean?_

_Should MI6 come after him?_

_I need to know what you guys think so I can continue, no reviews no more chapters!_

_That wasn't exactly a threat, 'cause I do need feedback, so…yeah…please review!_

**1533 words in this chapter, my longest yet!**


	6. A Bold Decision

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Alex Rider; I really am getting tired of saying that! 

_OMG!!!!!!!! I posted the 4__th__ chapter and I came home today and found 10 new reviews!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you know how happy that makes me? I just couldn't help it, I had to update again soon! Maybe this time I could get more __**hint, hint**_

_----------------------_

_Okay, lets clear up some of the confusion going on. I received a few private messages that asked about my writer's block. In truth, I really don't know what happened to it. I was just sitting there reading Snakehead and all of a sudden, all the ideas dawned on me!_

_----------------------_

_I think that I'm going to go with more of a nice Yassen, sorry to disappoint any of you! You guys were out-voted, thank you all of you who have reviewed!!!!!!_

_------------------------ on with the story------------------------------_

As soon as Alex entered, he looked up, his ice blue eyes studying him carefully, "Hello Alex," He said with is cold, emotionless voice, "what a surprise."

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Back with K-Unit: (ha! I kept you hanging, just wait a little longer, Yassen'll show up) 

After the wild-goose-chase trying to catch Alex, the three members of K-Unit rode home, utterly exhausted and two of them with throbbing heads. As they got back to the house, Jack was there to greet them, and she did not look happy. Hair disheveled from sleep and bags under her eyes, she looked so worried standing at the door. "What happened? Did Yassen kidnap Alex?" She looked like she was on the verge of tears, "And why are two of my best pots missing?"

"No, Yassen did not _kidnap _Alex," Wolf grudgingly replied, sounding thoroughly agitated, "He ran away and used the pots to knock us out…he's quite resourceful."

"What do you mean _ran away_? Why would he do that?" Jack was just so confused, "Where did he go?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." This time it was Fox that answered, subconsciously rubbing his head gingerly, "Let's go inside to talk."

-------------------------

"I think that he went to see Gregorovich." Wolf said it like it was obvious.

"Why would he do that," Jack inquired, "Doesn't he want to kill Alex? I mean, he _did _murder his uncle!"

"During the meeting, Alex spoke of Yassen as if he wasn't really a criminal, I think they have some type of connection." Eagle was thinking hard, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "A connection that we don't know about, the two have obviously talked in the past. We have to wait until Snake gets back with the file."

"No, we should contact MI6," Fox had now joined the argument, "Let them deal with this, we don't really have any control of this situation."

"Okay," Wolf was now nodding his head in agreement, "While they do that, we wait for Snake to come back."

Suddenly, the front door opened again, and Snake walked in the door. There was yet another manila folder under his arm. "So, what's going on? I saw the bikes out on the drivewa…?" He asked cheerfully, and then he saw their expressions and his demeanor dropped considerably. "Please don't say…"

"Yes," Fox rubbed his eyes, out of fatigue or irritation, "Alex left, we think he went after Cossack." He pointed to the folder, "Is that the file?"

"Yeah," Snake threw it a Wolf, who caught it instantly, "I haven't read it yet."

"Before we do, let's contact MI6 first." Eagle suggested, he pulled out his cell phone and pressed a speed-dial, "Hello, Mrs. Jones?"

_Jones: What's wrong?_

_Eagle: Alex left._

_Jones: WHAT?_

_Eagle: Yeah, we think he went after Yassen, what should we do?_

_Jones: Storm the hotel, no matter what, get Alex back…unharmed. Who knows Yassen could be doing to him right now. But be careful, we don't want to attract too much attention. When you get there, we'll have a squad waiting, meet us there in two hours._

Eagle: Got it, we're on the move. He clicked the phone shut.

"Alright, move it," He addressed everyone, "Let's get Alex back."

"Us?" Wolf was skeptical.

"Well, we'll have some help," Eagle assured, "We have two hours to get ready."

------------------------------------------------

**La Maison de Guerre-Room 149:**

"Please," Yassen gestured to the seat in front of him, "Sit down."

Alex carefully shut the door, never taking his eyes off the Russian, he came to the table and sat down. They just sat like that, staring at each other, for about five minutes.

Yassen was the one to break the silence, "Did MI6 send you?"

"No, I came by myself," Then it was Alex's turn to ask the questions, "…how did you survive the bullet wound and the crash?"

"I was wearing body armor at the time, and it was a fake sample of blood." Yassen was giving Alex the eye-over, silently evaluating him. "You do realize that these days, it is both easier and harder to fake one's death right?"

"Yeah…I guess so," Alex was still weary around the assassin, "Where did you go after?"

Yassen narrowed his eyes, but continued to explain, "I went to Venice."

"Did you contact Scorpia?" Alex was persistent.

"No," Yassen didn't like elaborating and avoided it at all cost.

"Why did you go there then?" Alex went on, he could almost, _almost_, see the annoyance in Yassen's eyes.

Yassen sighed, "I am wanted all over the world. I do not believe in the plastic surgery, hair dying, and make-up that you can hide under to stay anonymous. Venice is about the only place in the world where I am safe…other than Russia, but I have no intentions of going back there just yet."

Alex wanted to make sure he got it right, "So you _haven't_ been in contact with Scorpia?"

"No," Yassen answered shortly.

"Why did you come here then?" Alex was getting confused now.

"I wanted to see you." Yassen was looking Alex in the eye, and it was giving him the creeps. "I wanted to see if you went to Scorpia."

Alex started to get uncomfortable when he brought up the subject, "Ye…Yeah, I went to Scorpia, but I had a little…uh…mishap…with them."

Yassen looked slightly disappointed, but nodded nonetheless, "I understand, they can be a little harsh."

Alex raised an eyebrow, "A little harsh…?"

Yassen's expression remained stoic, "Yes, a _little_ harsh…from my point of view."

"Yes," Alex replied sarcastically, "That makes _all_ the difference!"

Yassen raised an eyebrow, "How did you get here?"

"I kind of ran away," Alex was hoping that they could avoid touching on this subject.

"Please be more specific." Yassen needed the information, as dull as it sounds; it was crucial to his freedom.

"Well, I kind of dropped some pots on the people that were guarding my house and ran away." He squirmed a little when he said this, it really was very cheesy.

Yassen smiled a little at the boldness of the act, "Were you followed?"

Alex scowled, "Yes, but I managed to loose them, although, they will assume that I came here."

"Good," Yassen nodded, "You never told me why you were here."

Yassen didn't ask it, he demanded an answer and Alex was forced to oblige. "MI6 said that you were in Venice right? So we thought you were working with Scorpia to like…maybe take down MI6 or something. I just wanted to see what you were up to."

Yassen replied slowly, "I see, so, now that you know what I am here for…or was here for, did you just stop by or will you come with me?"

"Huh?" Alex was thoroughly confused now.

"Well, MI6 will, undoubtedly, put the hotel on lock-down to try and capture me and get you back." Yassen was considering his options, "They do not know that I am just having a chat with you and not tying you up and holding you hostage. Before they come, I must leave if I am not to be arrested."

"I see," Alex was starting to get the big picture, "What does this have to do with going with you?"

"It can be arranged if you want to come with me, for whatever reason you have." Yassen had a strange look in his eyes when he said this, "You could take a break from MI6, plus, you will be perfectly safe with me."

Alex smirked, "_Perfectly _safe, I'm sure that I can take your word for it."

Then, he actually considered the offer; it did sound pretty good. Where Yassen was going, MI6 definitely wouldn't be there, and he knew that Yassen wouldn't kill him, so what could he loose? Also, he could find out some more information about his dad…

He made his decision, if he regretted it later, too bad, it was time to show MI6 how unreliable teenage secret agents are, and why they shouldn't employ them. "Fine, I'll go with you, but I need to tell Jack that I'm okay somehow."

Yassen was confused for a second, but he didn't show it, "Jack…ah…your housekeeper?"

Alex was surprised, but not as much as when he found out that Yassen was alive, "Yeah."

Yassen quickly scanned the room, "You will leave a note. Go open that new pack of printing paper, only your fingerprints will be on them, and open that new pack of pens too. While you prepare your letter, I will go pack up my things."

"Okay," It sounded perfectly reasonable to Alex and it probably would work.

-------------------------------------------------------

_Dear Jack,_

_I'm sorry for running away and worrying you like that. I just had some unfinished business to take care of and I am perfectly fine. I will be taking a short vacation and will come back in a few weeks, maybe a month at most. I promise that  
I will be safe and out of harm's way. Please don't hate me and worry too much. I really just want to take a break from MI6 and visit an old friend._

_Love,_

Alex Rider 

P.S.- Mrs. Jones, please don't send anyone after me (don't let Blunt send any either)

------------------------------------------------------

Alex put the pen down on the table beside the letter and stood up, he thought he overdid it with the "visit an old friend" part, but it had to sound that he wasn't in any real danger.

Yassen walked out of his room carrying a single suitcase. He had changed and was wearing combat boots, black pants and a bulletproof jacket by the looks of it. Alex thought he could see the faint bulge of a gun under the waistband of his pants, but he wasn't too worried, after all, the Russian carried a gun_ everywhere_.

"Let's go out the short way." Yassen obviously wanted to leave as soon as possible. "I don't want to check out just yet, in case I need to come back."

While they were in the hallway, Alex noticed that Yassen took both sets of keys and put them in his pocket. After a few turns, they came to a door that led outside. They left the building together, looking seemingly, like father and son…both dressed in combat clothes.

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_Okay this is definitely my longest chapter._

_Please review:_

_Where should they go to stay?_

_What should MI6's reaction be?_

_Thanks to all of you who reviewed last time, I hope this is what you wanted!!! And I'm sorry if Yassen is a little out of character._


	7. Vacation Spot

Disclaimer: I do not own _Yassen Gregorovich_, or any characters associated with him.

_Okay, I changed the last bit of this chapter and decided to get rid of Jocelyn since so many people didn't really like her. Hope you like this better guys!_

_----------------------------------------------------------------_

Yassen walked out of his room carrying a single suitcase. He had changed and was wearing combat boots, black pants and a bulletproof jacket by the looks of it. Alex thought he could see the faint bulge of a gun under the waistband of his pants, but he wasn't too worried, after all, the Russian carried a gun_ everywhere_.

"Let's go out the short way." Yassen obviously wanted to leave as soon as possible. "I don't want to check out just yet, in case I need to come back."

While they were in the hallway, Alex noticed that Yassen took both sets of keys and put them in his pocket. After a few turns, they came to a door that led outside. They left the building together, looking seemingly, like father and son…both dressed in combat clothes.

----------------------------------------------

The pair walked up to a silver Mercedes. "Nice car," Alex commented.

"I only go for the best," Yassen smirked, "Get in."

As Alex sat down in the front seat, he gasped. There were tons, _tons_ of gadgets packed into the limited amount of space. Whoever had designed the interior could probably outdo Smithers! "Whoa," Alex breathed, and just as he reached his hand out to experiment with some of the levers and buttons, a strong hand grabbed his wrist, "I wouldn't touch that if I were you…"

Alex gulped, "Sorry…it's just very…high-tech."

Yassen smiled at that, "Yes, it is isn't it."

He got into the driver's seat and revved up the engine, you almost couldn't hear it. Soon, they were cruising along the streets of London, "Where'd you get all this stuff?"

Yassen paused for a second, choosing his words carefully, and "I have many employees."

Alex cocked an eyebrow. After about five minutes of driving and leaving the bustling city behind, he had to ask, "Where are we going?"

Yassen averted his eyes from the road to glare at Alex, "You will see soon enough."

-----------------------------------------

K-Unit was on their way to La Maison de Guerre, speeding through the crowded streets on their motorcycles, they reached their destination in less than seven minutes. Pulling out their rifles, they strode into the building. When the receptionist looked up, she screamed, "What do you want…I'll give you all my money…Please don't kill me!!!!!!!!!!"

Wolf rolled his eyes, "We don't want to hurt you, we work with the government and we are after a…uh…charge."

The wide-eyed girl nodded, "Okay, so what does this have to do with the hotel?"

"We think he came here," Fox was quick to respond, trying not to get Wolf to agitated at the poor girl, "Did you happen to see a child walk in, wanting to see someone?"

"I see many children who want to see people," the receptionist answered shakily, "Could you be a little more specific?"

This time, Eagle answered, "He was dressed all in black, blonde hair, brown eyes…and…uh…his name is Alex."

"Alex Dimitri?" The receptionist asked hopefully, anything to get these creeps out.

Snake cocked an eyebrow, "Yeah, that's the kid."

"But…but…he walked in to see his father!" The girl looked frightened again.

A smile slowly unfolded across Wolf's face, "He lied, he wasn't here to see his father, he was here to see one of the top assassins in the world…" He left his sentence hanging, for the sake of a special effect.

The girl's jaw fell open, "…"

"Would you tell us what room he went to?" Fox asked, he was sure that Yassen would know that they were coming and would leave immediately, they were late as it was.

"Room…uh…149." The girl answered, it was hard to forget being yelled at in the middle of the night.

"Thank you." Eagle said tersely.

When they got to the door, they paused, expecting the worst. Did Yassen have Alex tied up? Was he holding him hostage? What state was Alex in? Why did he run away? Wolf kicked the door down, drew his gun, and stepped inside quickly. Upon searching the suite however, they found it empty. "Darn, we missed them," Snake was unhappy.

"Hey guys," Eagle picked up the note, "It's a note from Cub to Jack."

"Well," Fox said impatiently, "Read it all ready!"

Eagle scowled, but continued,

"_Dear Jack,_

_I'm sorry for running away and worrying you like that. I just had some unfinished business to take care of and I am perfectly fine. I will be taking a short vacation and will come back in a few weeks, maybe a month at most. I promise that  
I will be safe and out of harm's way. Please don't hate me and worry too much. I really just want to take a break from MI6 and visit an old friend._

_Love,_

Alex Rider 

_P.S.- Mrs. Jones, please don't send anyone after me (don't let Blunt send any either)_"

"Huh," mused Fox, "Old friend, ehh, who would've thought?"

----------------------------------------------------------

After about another 45 minutes of driving, they were out in the country. They pulled into the driveway of a mansion. It was all brick, surrounded by woods, and secluded from the outside world. From the outside, it just looked majestic and Alex couldn't wait to see the inside. As they reached the front door, Alex saw the amount of technology that was packed into just the outside of the building. Yassen was using voice activation, retina scanning, fingerprint gel scanning, and weight measurement just to open the front door!!! When they walked in, Alex's jaw dropped. It was as if he had walked into the royal palace…the ultramodern version, that is.

Yassen smirked lightly at Alex's reaction, "How do you like it?"

"Wow…" Alex was speechless, even though he knew he shouldn't be. Yassen would kill anybody if he were paid, why shouldn't he have a really cool house.

"Yes," Yassen continued to explain while walking further into the house, "It took me a while to acquire all the…necessary items I needed."

"So, I see…" Alex asked, "Where am I going to stay?"

"You will stay on the second floor." Yassen explained, "Follow me."

He led Alex up an expensive staircase and on to the upper landing. From there, he opened one of the doors situated near the beginning of a hallway. It was simple yet elegant, with mahogany furniture and a blood-red bedspread. Alex raised an eyebrow, but entered nonetheless, "Thanks…uh…I'll just…um…take a shower for…now."

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_Hey, sorry guys, I know that I've made way too many changes on this chapter, so __please don't hate me too much__. My life has been like a train wreck these days, I've been waking up at 3:00 AM on a school day to do homework for god's sake!!!! Plus, I stay up till like 12:00 AM writing for this story!!!! So, please review and sorry about the changes. _

_No more Jocelyn, I didn't think she was a very good character either, I just thought the story was getting a bit boring, but that's my point of view, will update soon!!!_


	8. Ideas

**Disclaimer: Alex Rider belongs to Anthony Horowitz, blah, blah, blah!**

_I have changed chapter 6 (part 7) so, if you haven't yet, go read it!_

_I'm so sorry if this story is starting to bore you, my brain is working on overdrive right now and it's gonna malfunction soon, so yeah, sorry if the story is starting to suck. I know that I say that every time, but I don't want people to review saying "this story is staring to get boring" or "you started off so well, now it sucks" OK? _

_I actually did get a private message saying that, "SOB"!!!!!!!!!!!_

_---------------------------let's go, on with the story-----------------------------_

"_You will stay on the second floor." Yassen explained, "Follow me." _

_He led Alex up an expensive staircase and on to the upper landing. From there, he opened one of the doors situated near the beginning of a hallway. It was simple yet elegant, with mahogany furniture and a blood-red bedspread. Alex raised an eyebrow, but entered nonetheless, "Thanks…uh…I'll just…um…take a shower for…now."_

_------------------------------------------_

**MI6 Headquarters:**

"I can't believe it!!!" Shouted Mrs. Jones when she reread the note for the hundredth time, "How could he just leave like that?" She was displaying a rare amount of emotion and to the other members of the room, it was a little scary seeing her so disgruntled. Mr. Blunt on the other hand, was sitting behind his desk watching the chaos unfold in front of him without a flicker of emotion, but what was going on in his head was another story.

"Well, if he doesn't want to be followed, maybe we should just leave him alone." Eagle was trying, and failing, to make the situation somewhat brighter.

"No," Mrs. Jones was attempting to calm down, but it only resulted in more panic, "Yassen could have forced Alex to write it, we don't know what he really wants."

At that moment, Smithers lumbered in, "Now, now, Mrs. Jones, I'm sure Alex is just fine." He started to open the laptop he had brought, "We have just received video footage of them leaving the hotel."

She sucked in a deep breath, "Fine, let's watch it."

The seven of them; Mrs. Jones, Mr. Blunt, Smithers, Wolf, Eagle, Snake, and Fox, saw Yassen walk out with Alex following him, unhurt and unbound. Then, they saw them headed towards a car, on the way; they caught a smile from Alex and a smirk from Yassen. Both were totally relaxed and Alex even seemed to be enjoying himself a little. Unfortunately, they were too far away to hear what they were saying, but that problem happened to be taken care of already.

"We have had our best team analyze the video and read their lips, this is what we came up with." Smithers continued to explain while pulling out a sheet of paper from his bag. It looked like a script from a play, but it was the conversation Alex and Yassen had before they got in the car.

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_**Alex: **__Nice car_

_**Yassen: **__I only go for the best, get in_

_**Alex: **__Whoa_

_**Yassen:**__ I wouldn't touch that if I were you_

_**Alex: **__Sorry…it's just very…high-tech_

_**Yassen:**__ Yes it is, isn't it_

_**Alex: **__Where'd you get all this stuff_

_**Yassen: **__I have many employees_

_**Alex: **__Where are we going_

_**Yassen: **__You will see soon enough_

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Mrs. Jones was deep in thought, "That doesn't prove anything."

Mr. Blunt finally spoke up, "Yes it does actually," he was determined to prove her wrong, "Smithers, what did you team of…experts say?"

Smithers gladly took up the briefing, "Well, judging by Alex physical posture and actions, he is clearly not forced to follow Yassen," he quickly glanced at Mrs. Jones when he said this. "Also, he is not…uh…held…captive in anyway, plus Yassen seems at least half-polite to him."

"Very well," Mr. Blunt allowed a thin smile to grace his lips, "There, Tulip, you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Mrs. Jones was absolutely livid, "HOW COULD YOU SAY SUCH A THING???!!!"

"Mrs. Jones," Blunt said sternly, "In this job, there are occupational hazards, this just happens to be one of them. If Alex wants to be left alone, then he will be."

"UGH! How do you know that he isn't okay? Yassen could have forced him to act natural, he could have told Alex what to say, when to smile!!! Fine, if YOU won't go look for them, I will! If we loose Alex, you will regret it in the future when the world will need him and he'd be dead!" Mrs. Jones thundered, "K-Unit, you will go after him after a sighting has been reported. Set up a national alert…"

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After taking a rather refreshing shower, he changed back into his clothes and went down stairs to look for Yassen. He found him in the kitchen, sitting at the table, just like when they met at the hotel. "Hey," Alex said tentatively.

"Hello Alex," Yassen looked up, "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, but I'm a little hungry," He admitted.

Yassen sighed, "We will have breakfast in, uh, about six hours, unless of course, something pops up…which is very likely. So, go…make a sandwich or something."

Alex went to the refrigerator and pulled out some bread, peanut butter, and jelly. Using a knife, he made a PB and J sandwich, "What do you mean, pops up?"

"Well," Yassen explained, "I am almost positive that there was a video camera in the parking lot, I would assume that once MI6 found your note, they would send a team to track us down using my license plate, yes?"

Alex yawned, it was around 1:30 AM and Yassen didn't seem sleepy at all, "Yeah, but I told them not to worry or come after me."

Yassen scowled, "Do you really think that they would by that? If I know Jones, she would automatically suspect that I forced you to write it and, no matter what, send a team after us."

Alex sighed, "Yeah…so, what do we do? Do you think that they could have tracked us here?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Yassen appeared to think about it, "They will have someone on the watch, and one sighting could alert MI6 of where I am. You have seen that this house is in the middle of nowhere, so it should be pretty easy to find. If we rely on my instincts, we must leave now, when we still can."

---------------------------------------------------------------

Smithers called Mrs. Jones, "We have a reported sighting, and they headed south."

Mrs. Jones smiled cunningly, this was all the proof she needed. She had suspected that Yassen had a house near London, in fact, she knew the exact location of it, she just couldn't be sure if it was _his_ house…until now. "Okay, send a team to _the _house, you know the address."

"Of course ma'am." Smithers seemed to regret telling her that, he knew that Alex didn't want to be followed, but he also knew that when Mrs. Jones was serious, NOBODY, except maybe Yassen Gregorovich, messed with her.

-----------------------------------------

After finishing his rather dull sandwich, Alex and Yassen go into the car again. While Alex had been eating though, Yassen had spray painted the car jet black and changed the license plate, taking the old one with him and putting the paint in the trunk of the car. It just _happened_ to be the quick dry version, so it set than less than 35 minutes.

"Are you sure that this'll fool them?" Alex was skeptical and he voiced his doubts out loud to Yassen, hoping to start a decent conversation.

"No, I highly doubt that this will fool them, but it's better that driving the same car right?" Yassen replied, allowing a little annoyance to slip into his voice.

"Where are we going?" Alex had to ask again, then he added, "Don't say that _I'll find out soon enough, _I won't buy it."

"I want to go somewhere extremely remote," Yassen's brows were furrowed, "Until we figure out a capable plan."

"Uh huh…" Alex said suspiciously.

"Unless," Yassen smirked with a mysterious glint in his eyes, you could tell he was in a good mood right now. Whether it was just the sensation of having a little "fun" or being with John Rider's son, he didn't know, but he decided to drop his serious act and mess around with MI6 a little, "You want to wreak havoc with Special Operations division MI6."

Alex glanced up at Yassen, clearly shocked, this was NOT the Yassen he knew, but…it did sound like a pretty fun idea. Plus, he was feeling extremely "bad" right now, _time for some payback Blunt!_ "You're in! Let's do this!"

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sniffle, cough, sneeze…NOOOOOOO!!!! I have strep throat, argh, I feel like my brain just froze up. Anyway, this is a major set up for the next chapter:

_What should Alex and Yassen do to MI6? _smiles evilly and rubs hands together with glee

_What should happen when MI6 find's Yassen's house empty?_

_Please review, I will wait for at least 10, I need advice. Stupid sickness, GO AWAY!!! Anyway, I'll be waiting! If I don't get enough ideas from my audience, or advice… stupid brain freeze, I won't continue this story. So, under the circumstances, please review, I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but it's really necessary. And I mean honestly, how hard is it to type up a few sentences of what you would expect to happen?_

_Thanks for not yelling at me, so far, for totally messing up on the last chapter!!! And I know this sounds cheesy, writer's block and now getting sick all within like a 2 week period, but sorry and I feel so guilty._


	9. Payback: Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Alex Rider series, THERE I've said it, now can we please move on…grumble…grumble…don't have to rub it in every time! pouts**

_Before we begin, I would like to thank SheWeapon1 and Eagle's daughter for giving me the NICEST reviews EVER!!! Thanks so much and I really appreciate your kindness! Many of the ideas in this chapter come from that and maybe some from the movie, "The Parent Trap"._

_Also, thanks to all of you who have stuck with me while I was writing this story! It's nice to know that I have some dedicated readers out there who read my work._

_-------on with the story-----oh well, I ask for 10 reviews and I get 5, but I don't care------_

_"Unless," Yassen smirked with a mysterious glint in his eyes, you could tell he was in a good mood right now. Whether it was just the sensation of having a little "fun" or being with John Rider's son, he didn't know, but he decided to drop his serious act and mess around with MI6 a little, "You want to wreak havoc with Special Operations division MI6."_

_Alex glanced up at Yassen, clearly shocked, this was NOT the Yassen he knew, but…it did sound like a pretty fun idea. Plus, he was feeling extremely "bad" right now,_ time for some payback Blunt_! "You're in! Let's do this!"_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

The pair headed back inside and sat down at the kitchen table to discuss what they wanted to do. Yassen was looking at Alex expectantly, and frankly, it was confusing the teenager, "What!?" He asked, not liking the assassin's stare.

"Well," Yassen shrugged, "I'm pretty sure that whatever plan I come up with, you will veto it immediately, so I thought that it would be easier for me to just let you come up with the plan."

Alex sighed; did he always have to think for everyone? "Okay…rule number one: NO KILLING PEOPLE. Rule number two: If my friends from K-Unit come, make sure to intimidate Wolf, who is the leader. Rule nu…" He was cut off by a question from Yassen.

"Who is K-Unit?" He had read a file on them, but it didn't exactly go into detail, "I know they work for the SAS, but who are they."

"K-Unit were my "bodyguards" when I was stuck at home and they are Wolf, Fox, Snake, and Eagle." Alex explained, and when Yassen nodded, he continued, "Rule number three: the pranks must be silly."

Yassen raised an eyebrow, "Must they?" He asked flatly in his usual expressionless voice.

"Well…" Alex considered, "I want it to seem like a teenager did it and not an accomplished assassin who works for their archenemies!"

Yassen sighed, "Alright, what do you have in mind?"

Alex thought about it hard, "We need something that you already have…how about water?"

Yassen was actually surprised, "THAT'S IT? THAT is all you can come up with?"

Alex glared, "So, you can come up with better?"

Yassen scoffed, "Of course I can come up with better!"

"Fine," Alex was stubborn and wouldn't let Yassen have the glory of winning this little debate. "What've YOU got in mind?"

"Hmmm…" Yassen considered this carefully, "Pick from syrup, whipped cream, honey, feathers, and cooking oil."

Now, it was Alex's turn to be surprised. He never really expected the cold-hearted assassin to come up with an idea that was actually…better…than…………..his. "I know, we could somehow attach a bucket to the door, so when its opened, it will tip over. Of course, we will fill the bucket with honey and syrup! Then, we could attach a trip wire that activates something that dumps feathers onto them. We could also use water guns to squirt them if they try to go further into the house!"

Yassen raised an eyebrow at the absurdity of the plan, but smiled nonetheless. "You do realize that this is going to trash my 13 million dollar house right?"

"Uhhh…" Alex hadn't exactly considered that obstacle, "You could always hire a cleaning service!" He said hopefully.

Yassen scowled, "That wasn't what I meant Rider, it was supposed to a joke." Then, he sighed, "The real goal is to get them to leave, so if they still continue to come, I can fire tranquilizer darts at them and take them out into the woods to let them find their own way home."

Even though it sounded tempting, Alex wanted to make sure that nobody got severely injured or hopelessly lost. "Okay, I guess that's alright, but put a tracker on each of them, so we know where they are going. And, please make sure you use a dart gun, not one with ammunition. I really don't want them to get hurt, ya know?"

Yassen smiled at how well they worked together, _just like the old days, with John…_ "Great, it's a plan. Lets get started, we have a lot of work to do."

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**Four hours later:**

K-Unit was headed towards Yassen's house on motorcycles. In the lead, was Wolf, and he was thoroughly annoyed.

First, he was assigned to guard Alex FROM Yassen and then he just goes and runs off with him! They were told that it would be a bit of a car chase, so they had been allowed three hours of sleep. When Fox had questioned why they shouldn't go after them immediately, Blunt admonished him telling him to do as ordered. Although, Mrs. Jones explained that they wanted to see where Yassen and Alex were going first.

Within 15 minutes, they reached the house. Leaving their bikes a good half-mile from the mansion, they stalked quickly and quietly to the front door.

--------------------------------------------

"Alex…Alex" Yassen was shaking the boy's shoulder, trying to wake him up, "Wake up, they're almost here!"

"Huh?" Alex sleepily popped open one eye, then, realizing where he was and what he was doing here, he was wide-awake. "

"Let's go, get in your position," Yassen hissed at Alex.

After they had finished making their plans, Alex gathered all the ingredients and Yassen set up the traps. He made it look so simple and Alex was utterly jealous. They'd added a few finishing touches, including pouring oil onto the floor with a loose piece of wood that would slide over the floor. Someone would eventually step on it and slam into the couch, where there was a crème pie waiting. Alex had no idea where Yassen managed to stock up so many groceries, but he was thankful. After all, it would be put to good use!

After they had finished setting up the traps, Alex was so tired, he could hardly keep his eyes open. Yassen allowed him to sleep and said that he would wake him up when the time came, and well, the time was now and Alex was awake.

They saw the shadows of K-Unit outside the door and tensed up. Yassen was cradling a stun gun in the crook of his arm and Alex held a water gun, full to the brim. Next to him, were 3 more water guns, all filled and ready to shoot.

Soon, they heard the lock being smashed and Yassen grinding his teeth, "I spent 200 grand on that lock!" He hissed angrily to Alex.

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"Man that was easy," Said Wolf, laughing and quickly stepping inside. This was supposed to be a quick search. They didn't expect Yassen to be in the house, he would have left the minute he suspected that they were after him. But, as always, MI6's plans always had a glitch. As the team walked through the doorway, each and every one of them was covered with sticky maple syrup and honey. "What the heck?" Fox exclaimed, attempting to wipe the fluid from his eyes, but only making it worse.

Of course, the honey, along with being a major edition to the ultimate plan, it also served as a distracter. It hindered K-Unit's vision and annoyed to the point that they weren't really paying attention to where they were going. So, to Yassen and Alex's great relief, they didn't notice the oil poured over the marble floor.

Soon, their feet were caught in the trip wire, but they didn't fall. All their training had taught them not to fall, so they caught themselves just in time, only to step on board and have it slide across the floor. Also, in the split second that they stumbled, a bin of pillow feathers were dumped on top of them while they were sent crashing into a sofa. When they contacted with the sofa, their faces slammed into the delicious crème pies waiting for them.

All of this happened so fast, that nobody had a chance to say anything. Sputtering and gasping for breath, the four SAS men stumbled forward, only to be pelted with jets of water. Alex aimed for the balls, it was one of the easiest targets, and he knew that it would hurt. Along with the pain, there was a growing level of anger in the room too, to Alex's great amusement.

"Ow!!!!!!!!!" Fox howled as he was hit with the water. Every single one of them went down, crumpling in pain.

Yassen sighed, even though it was quite entertaining to watch their plan be put into action, now he would have to get these idiots out of his house. Luckily, Alex had come up with the idea that if they put plastic wrap on all the furniture and on the walls and floor, clean up would be a breeze.

Not taking his chances with any of them, Yassen quickly walked up to the team and shot a tranquilizer bullet into each of their arms. Then, he pulled out some trackers, they were about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen, and he stuck one on each man. Yassen had been contemplating on where to put it, then he realized that no man ever checks behind his ears. If this was a woman on the other hand, this would be different. They always tuck some hair behind their ears or adjust their earrings. Attaching the tracker to the flesh behind the ear, Yassen picked 2 men up by the collars of their shirts and brought them outside, Alex followed, dragging the other 2, with a smirk plastered on his face._ That was payback for how you treated me at SAS training!_

They dropped K-Unit about two miles away from the house. On the way back Alex started celebrating, "That was totally awesome, did you see Wolf's face?"

Yassen had to smile at that, "Yes Alex, I did." Then he became serious again, "Now, you will need to help me clean up the mess."

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_This chapter was pretty fun to write, I didn't want to have MI6 discover an empty house, so yeah, there you go. It's almost mid-night; I had a totally boring day of school, and an exhausting volleyball game. I'm officially pooped; I hope you liked this chapter, if you didn't, well, too bad. Live with it. Thanks again to SheWeapon1 for the wonderful review, maybe more people can be that nice and make my day __**hint hint. **__And sorry if Yassen seems a little out of character, I think I like the nice version a lot more. I probably won't be able to update for a few days because I'm gonna be really busy soon and I hope you can review!_

_Did you like it? If so, why?_

_What would you want differently?_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**SheWeapon1: **thank you soooooo much for the wonderful review, you know, the only reason that I took the time to write this was because of your review!

**Eagle's daughter: **thank you for your kind words and support; I will definitely consider your ideas

**Solen: **I would love to write a slash, but I'm not exactly the age in which I really know how to write it yet and make it seem believable, heehee, sorry, maybe in the future

**Gold is Power:** thanks for the review

**Dark Lady Shi no Megami:** thank you for your opinion

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There are 2043 words in this chapter. Yah! I finally made the 2000 word mark!


	10. Interlude

**Disclaimer: sigh, _still_ not mine…but I'm in the midst of scheming right now. You better watch out Anthony Horowitz 'cause he'll be mine sooner or later!**

I'm terribly sorry for the long wait guys, although technically 1 month isn't the end of the world, but I've been soooooo busy. Volleyball, school-work, absent make-up work, violin/viola, and a baby brother all add up to quite a lot of busy-ness and no time to work on my beloved story, sob!!! I would just like to say thanks for not totally hating me for not updating for like forever, but no I did not forget you and no I did not abandon you!

I appreciate the _eight_ reviews, I would have liked a few more, but I guess I'm pretty satisfied and I'm really glad that you like my last chapter. I must warn you though, my brain is fried right now, I mean OMG I just finished the ISATs and a book report, that should give you a little hint of my age, so this chapter isn't really gonna be my _best_ installment, nor is it gonna be the funniest, but it's an update.

I also know that my punctuation is not the best, but please, gimme a break, I'm working on it!

--------------------------on with the story----------------------------

_They dropped K-Unit about two miles away from the house. On the way back Alex started celebrating, "That was totally awesome, did you see Wolf's face?"_

_Yassen had to smile at that, "Yes Alex, I did." Then he became serious again, "Now, you will need to help me clean up the mess."_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Picking up plastic wrap covered in honey, syrup, feathers, cooking oil and occasional splatterings of pie was NOT a fun job and Alex was getting bored of it. "So," he voiced his thoughts out loud, hoping Yassen would get the hint, "What should we do next?"

Yassen gave him a questioning look, "You tell me what to do and I find a way to execute the plan, not the other way around."

Alex scowled, Yassen could get under his skin like nobody else, "_Well_, I didn't realize that I was the only one with brains around here!"

Yassen's eyes flashed for a second, but that was enough to send a shiver up Alex's spine. Even though he knew that Yassen wouldn't kill him, Alex wondered how much of a chance there was of Yassen seriously hurting him.

"Are you saying that thinking of ways to put your…nearly improbable plans into action doesn't take brains?!" Yassen squinted his eyes at Alex, demanding an answer.

"Yeah, you're supposed to come up with clever stuff all the time," Alex shrugged.

Yassen was getting fed up and he seriously needed some sleep. "Clever stuff…yes, but all the time…no."

Alex raised an eyebrow, "You're the best assassin in the world and you don't do clever stuff ALL THE TIME?"

Yassen sighed, looking Alex straight in the eye, he continued calmly, "Alex, you may not have noticed, but I'm getting old, a bit too old for my line of work." When Alex, looked at him as if he were a lunatic, he elaborated, "I don't really _work_ for anyone anymore, I work for myself. I feel that it is time for me to take it easy for a while."

Alex snorted, "YOU? Take it easy? Gimme a break!"

Yassen stared back at him with his face blank, "Alex…wh…" he paused, "Whatever you may think of me, I am still human."

Alex was genuinely surprised at this, was Yassen offended? "Sorry…I…" he tried to continue, but Yassen cut him off.

"I don't expect you to understand," There was an odd glint in his eye when he said this, but it quickly morphed into annoyance, "Don't just stand there! Get back to work, this was your idea, so you will help clean up the mess you made!"

Grumbling, Alex continued to roll the plastic wrap, with Yassen doing the exact same thing. "Sure thing, boss!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

After about 15 minutes, K-Unit woke up in total agony. They were covered from head to toe in cooking oil, honey, syrup, feathers and their faces had received a generous gift from extremely inviting crème pies!

"WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Wolf stuttered upon regaining consciousness.

"Huh?" Eagle muttered, also waking up groggily. Then, upon noticing what they were covered in, he moaned, "Ewwwww, gross!"

Fox was thinking hard and his teammates' complaining wasn't really helping. "Oh, get a hold of yourself man, its just child's play."

Snake shook his head to clear his mind, "Are these feathers at least decontaminated? And this is _child's play_? I'd like to see what he could do_ seriously_ then!"

"OH GODS! Where are we?" Fox swiveled his head around quickly, trying in vain to discover a landmark of some kind.

Wolf was so angry, you could literally see his face turning beet red under the layer of…stuff, "If this was Cub's idea of a joke, I will enjoy torturing him when he gets back!" He smirked, "Oooh yeah, I'm gonna make him pay."

Fox, who had spent the most time with him, felt differently, "Do you think that he had a motive behind the plot, like…to get us back from how we treated him at the SAS?"

"Nonsense!" Muttered Eagle, "Why would he do such a thi…oh…we were jerks towards him weren't we?"

Snake seemed to side with Fox, "I guess we kinda were."

Wolf, of course, was not concerned about that, "We need to find a stream to wash this stuff off, then, we report back to HQ."

---------------------------------------------------------

The foyer was finally cleaned and Yassen was quite content with the job well done. Now, he decided, was a good time to get some sleep, but there were more important matters to attend to. After all, his record for staying awake was 79 full hours and this was about what, 35?

He led Alex into another room that was further inside the house, it just happened to be the security room. After tapping away at the keyboard for a few moments, four red dots appeared on the screen he was sitting in front of. "Alex, why don't we pay a visit to K-Unit's lovely vehicles?"

Alex raised an eyebrow at how quickly Yassen managed to locate the motorcycles, "Sure, I would also like to call MI6. Where is K-Unit, by the way?"

Yassen quickly responded by typing away furiously at the keyboard, "Heading in the wrong direction…naturally. It appears they are heading towards a stream, I guess they want to look presentable when they report their failure back to MI6."

"Is there a way for us to guide them back here without being noticed?" Alex asked, not wanting his "bodyguards" to get lost.

"I'm sure they have equipment," Yassen scowled, "But if need be, tell MI6 to send a search party or something."

Alex grimaced, search parties, riiiight. "Sure…their search parties are always successful at locating their men quickly and efficiently!" He said sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

Yassen turned around to look at him, "Alright, I'll tell them that if they don't come, I'll kill them in cold-blood." He was looking Alex straight in the eyes, and it was unnerving how calmly he said it.

"You wouldn't d…well, argh, what am I saying, it was your job!" Alex threw his hands up in the air thoroughly agitated with Yassen; he always had to be so right! "Fine, but don't actually do it," Alex warned cautiously, with most people, that would've been a joke, but with Yassen, you could never be too careful.

"Of course," He turned back to the computer, "First, let me put this place on lockdown."

Alex was puzzled, "Why?"

"Alex, if we tell MI6 to come here to pick up agents, they're bound to stumble upon this place." Yassen's mind was racing, remembering everything he knew about MI6, "Anyways, I think Jones even knows where I live, so we better get moving soon."

"Fine," Alex shrugged, "I don't really care, as long as K-Unit suffers as much as possible!"

----------------------------------------------

Stepping into the stream felt like heaven to the four members of K-Unit. After half an hour of being drenched in muck, washing it off was a real luxury. "Alright boys, lets move it!" Wolf yelled, trying to sound professional despite his injured pride. He was beaten by a boy and humiliated in front of his men for god's sake…but then again, he was working with a dangerous assassin who, surprisingly, hadn't hurt him yet. "Compasses out…lets head…um…southwest for now."

"Hey Wolf," Fox inquired, "You remember what Mrs. Jones said about Cossack forcing Cub to go with him right?"

Wolf nodded, already predicting where the question was headed.

"Well," Fox paused, not sure if he should continue, "Do you think that he forced him?"

Wolf considered the question carefully, weighing the consequences of each answer with precision and just down right common sense. After some silent debating, he answered, "No," he said, "I do not think that Yassen forced him. It's obvious that the two are very close…or at least it appears to be. Personally, I think that either Alex has turned "bad" or Yassen, by some miracle, has turned "good"."

Eagle was confused, "Why would you think that? If you ask me, they just seem to get along really well."

"I guess that could be it, but I have a question." Snake responded, all the while trudging along using the tiny compass that was in his pocket as a guide, "How do they know each other?"

"Didn't you listen to Mrs. Jones you idiot?" Fox smirked, "They met during the Stormbreaker case!"

"No, that's not what I meant." Snake reasoned, "You don't just run off with someone when you know they could kill you after meeting him for a short time! Remember when he said _Yassen is the last link to my past, my parents, I actually feel a connection to him_? And what was that business about his dad being an assassin?"

Fox looked thoughtful, "You're right, what did Yassen have to do with Alex's dad?"

"We better find out," Eagle said urgently, "Who knows that they could be planning next!"

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_So, did you like it? Did you hate it? Sorry there was no action, I'll try to update soon! Please review and no flames._


	11. New Gear

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or anything of the sort.

First off, I would sincerely like to apologize to my loyal reviews and those who have supported me for the (almost) year that I've been gone. There was a death in my family a while after my previous author's note and it really hit me hard. I am really sorry that I haven't said anything, but I was depressed for a while. I'm so sorry guys, but I'm better now, and I've started writing again!

I don't know when I'll update again, school is still tough and I a have a few other projects that I'm currently working on, so enjoy this teaser for now!

Chapter 11: New Gear

"Yassen!" Alex called out.

Drying off his hair with a towel, the elder poked his head into the room, "What?"

"I don't have any other clothes," the Rider frowned. He was still wearing the same outfit from before and frankly, it was beginning to smell. "Can I borrow some of yours?"

The two of them were currently staying at a hotel just outside of London, kindly paid for by Mr. Gregorovich himself, and in the process of planning their next prank. After the success of their first scheme, Alex had pressed Yassen into agreeing to going through with a more difficult one…one with higher consequences. The elder had decided that _La Maison de Guerre _was too risky to stay at, so he had moved them to a less extravagent one a few miles away.

Yassen sighed, "No."

Alex scowled, "Why not? Afraid that I'll get my teenage cooties all over them?" He didn't see the problem with borrowing a few articles of clothing for a few hours so he could wash his own.

"That's not exactly what I was thinking, but if that satisfies you, that's fine as well." The former assassin shrugged, stepping into the room in a black muscle shirt and gray drawstring sweatpants. "I was planning on taking you to a place that I go to…to get you an outfit of your own, which I can garuntee will be 500 times better than what MI6 has ever provided you with."

Raising an eyebrow, the younger blinked, "And what exactly am I going to be doing in this outfit that we have to have specially made?"

Yassen leaned casually against the doorframe, "Oh, I think we're both in the mood for a little payback right now."

Smirking, Alex slipped his shoes on. "Fine, let's go."

Nodding, the former assassin walked back to his room to change…again, as Alex combed his hair and rummaged around his hat and found a black cap. His blond hair was so noticeable, "Maybe I should dye it or something," he said, looking at his reflection in the mirror with frustration.

"Absolutely not," Yassen admonished, reappearing in the room as if by magic. Stepping behind the teen, the elder rearranged some hair and put the cap on. "There, it looks fine as it is."

Pulling the hat back off again and purposefully mussing up his hair, Alex blushed, "Shut up."

Punching the younger lightly on the back of the head, Yassen smirked, "That's no way to talk to the world's number one assassin."

"_Former _number one assassin," the Rider pointed out, smiling as he dodged another swift punch. "C'mon, I'm starting to look forward to the idea of changing out of these clothes a little too much."

As the two of them exited the hotel and climbed into the car, Yassen pulled a piece of black cloth from his pocket. "Sorry Alex, you're going to have to trust me on this…"

The Rider sighed; he'd expected as much, "Yeah well, what else can I do?"

Smirking, Yassen lifted the front of the cap to better see the younger's eyes. "Nothing."

"…" Alex sat still as the elder wrapped the cloth around his head, making sure to cover the eyes, and tied it securely at the back. Feeling the front of his cap lowered again, the teen relaxed into this seat. "So, how long is this going to take?"

"Not too long, maybe a half hour or so drive, that's all," Yassen answered.

----------------------------------MI6 HEADQUARTERS---------------------------------------

"Why is he making this so difficult?" Mrs. Jones complained as she paced in front of Alan Blunt and Smithers in her office. "I mean, what does he see in Yassen that he doesn't see in his life here?"

"Tulips, I'll just say this," Smithers sighed, "You need to calm down."

----------------------------------WITH ALEX---------------------------------------------------

The car came to a halt and Yassen killed the engine. "We're here." Alex heard the elder exit the car and seconds later his door was opened, letting in a stream of cool air. A warm hand reached for his as he was helped out and led in some random direction that Alex hoped was their destination. They entered through a few sets of doors when finally Yassen stopped. "Ready?"

"Finally," Alex scowled.

Yassen chuckled as the blindfold was removed. Alex began to open his eyes only to have them covered by a large hand. "Alex, open them slowing or else the light might affect you." Yassen pulled his hand away slightly but still held it directly in front of the younger's face.

As Alex slowly forced his eyes open, he blinked at the image of a palm a mere inch in front of him, but slowly adjusted. When Yassen pulled his hand away, the light hit him directly. "Where are we?"

The room was stark white, the empty shelves lining the walls, counters and tables, even lighting were all bright white. "Are you alright?"

Alex nodded hesitantly, rubbing his eyes, "How much longer here?"

"This, Alex," Yassen motioned around the room, "is where we are going to get your outfit sorted out."

"This...?" It was only then that the Rider realized the sheer size of the room. It had to be at least 100 feet long and 75 feet wide! "Whoa…"

Smirking, Yassen placed a gentle hand on the teen's shoulder, "Welcome to whole different world."

"But there's nothing here…" observed Alex.

As if on cue, a door near the two swung open, revealing a man in black. "Ah, Yassen! How good to see you again…and who's your friend, here?"

"This is Alex, Alex Dimitri," said the former assassin, sliding and arm around the younger's shoulders protectively. "He's here for an outfit."

"I see," commented the man, eye the teen up and down intently, a certain gleam in his eye. "Well, let's see what we can do."

He walked over to one of the shelves and pressed a well-concealed button. As the man stepped away, the walls began to rearrange themselves. New panels slid forward, revealing rows and rows of items. "So, let's get started. What will this be for?"

As Alex opened his mouth to reply, Yassen beat him to it, "Get him the most basic, just the essentials." The teen glared at the elder who shot him a pointed look in return.

"Hmmm, very well, let's see," the man murmured, walking to the opposite side of the room. "Color specifications?"

"Black," Yassen said curtly.

"…as usual," the man muttered as he picked a few items from the shelves. "Okay, let's take a look at what we have here."

Stepping on a certain combination of tiles in the middle of the room, a table rose up from the floor. Setting the items on the table, Yassen and Alex went and stood by it.

"We'll start with a bulletproof jersey, I'm sure you've seen those before," when Alex nodded, the man continued. "Next, a flame resistant and insulted, but light, long sleeved shirt. It is to be worn over the jersey, but under the vest. The vest has a variety of item already included. Such as a knife, a gun, bullets, smoke bombs, and a few smoke bombs. Make sure to zip it up all the way to the top, it'll protect you neck. Next, we have semi-stretchy cargo pants that are also flame resistant. I've included a calf strap where you can hide a knife under the pant leg. And finally, black sneakers. I know they're not the most practical, but they have trackers in them and are suited for your age range," the man finished, handing the receiver of the tracker to Yassen. "Nothing too complicated, should get you two through whatever needs to be done."

"Thank you, I'll send you the money in a few weeks," Yassen nodded, picking up their items and directing Alex to a changing room near the back of the room. "Go change, Alex."

Huffing slightly at being ordered around, the Rider obliged.

--------TBC----------

We'll see what happens next time, no promises on when I'll update, sorry.

please remember to review, but please, constructive critisism only!! :D loves you all soooooooooo much for sticking with me through all this ^^


	12. Preparations for the Finale

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider

Chapter 23: Preparations for the Finale

Alex's black cap fell off as his head lolled against Yassen's shoulder. They were taking a train to the airport and Alex had dozed off around half an hour ago. While Alex decided to take a nap, Yassen was busy researching files on his laptop.

He was already aware that MI6 was meeting up with some of the heads of the United States government to discuss terrorism and he hoped, a crack down on some of the shadier organizations, Scorpia included. For a while now, Yassen had wanted to be able to walk free with only government officials with a price on his head, not assassins too. The meeting was to take place in Berlin, Germany and thus, that was where they were headed.

The elder frowned as he picked up the younger's hat from his lap and slipped it into his bag. Alex had insisted earlier that they target Jones and Blunt directly, not just their men. Well, Yassen still had some semi-trusted contacts even though he technically wasn't in the business anymore. In fact, he had managed to register himself on every known source that he could find as "Deceased".

Yassen opened his e-mail and addressed it accordingly.

I:

I have a request for you. Reply as soon as possible.

C

"I" for investigator? "I" for informer? "I" for intelligence? Yassen had yet to find out. But what he did know was that '_I'_ could only be contacted by phone if _he _wanted to be contacted. It was worth the trouble though, and the money, '_I_' had been his most reliable source since he had started in the business. His fee wasn't cheap, usually topping 6,000 USD per request, depending on how much needed to be done.

He's been researching the meeting place for about fifteen minutes now, and all he had found out was that it was to be out of the press' reach and in an extremely secluded area. Apparently, this little discussion was important enough to take them to the farthest reaches of any public transportation. He had been planning on taking the U-bahn and S-bahn, as some major was to get around and it looked like it was almost out of option.

Yassen sighed and shifted so that he was more comfortable. The building they were meeting in was apparently a warehouse that was only in use part of the year…the part of the year that wasn't now. The secret services were so stupid sometimes. Sure there were less people and it was easier to spot somebody, but with the right amount of talent and all the gadgets, getting past security would just be that much easier.

"_Now arriving…at London Southend Airport. All passengers wishing to exit, please begin preparing to leave. Thank you for riding with us, we hope your trip was enjoyable," _a woman's voice sounded over the PA system.

Yassen quickly locked his computer and slipped it into his bag. Between the two of them, they were also sharing a suitcase which was stowed in the hanger overhead.

After changing, Yassen had seen to it that Alex recieved a couple sets of regular teenage clothes (while still aiming for the more sophisticated look) and had left all the gadgets that came with the outfit in the shop. When they made up their minds that they would be leaving the country, Yassen didn't want to take a chance with airport security.

Efficiently pulling out the cap again and zipping the bag shut, Yassen glanced down at Alex. The past few days must have been exciting for the kid…but exciting was the way he lived. "Exciting and stupid," Yassen whispered, smirking openly. Reaching over and fluffing the boy's hair, the elder smiled when he saw the annoyed look on the younger's face.

"What is it!"

"Hmmm?" Yassen pretended to be clueless. "Well, since we're arriving at our stop, I just thought I'd wake you up so I wouldn't have to carry you through the airport."

Alex scowled, "Fine. I'll take the suitcase."

"Good," Yassen nodded curtly, putting the cap on Alex's head, he stood up. "We better get moving."

-----------------In the airport------------------------

Yassen scanned the room discreetly behind the rimless glasses that he had donned. So far, nobody seemed to have recognized them.

He glanced at Alex. The teen was wearing a pair of black slacks and a white short-sleeved dress shirt. On his wrist was a watch that Yassen had allowed him to keep and on his feet were the sneakers he had been given. He himself was wearing a pair of dark gray business pants and a dark blue collared T-shirt, which was tucked into this pants. Alex had taken his hat off, but both of them were wearing glasses of some sort, attempting to either hide their features or change their look. Yassen had only cut his hair a few times since he had "died" and now it was a more boyish cut with long strands of blonde and light brown. He hoped that neither of their faces would be flagged if it ran through the filter.

They stepped up in line.

"How are you two gentlemen today?" the lady behind the counter asked, blushing and clearly taken to Yassen's sharp features. She was dressed in traditional work clothes, blouse, skirt, probably high-heeled shoes, her hair done up in a tight bun, name tag over her left breast. Not a threat.

"We're fine. To Berlin, Germany." Yassen answered, his usual cold façade immediately returning full force.

The lady nodded politely, trying to ignore the cold shoulder. Tapping a few keys on the keyboard under her fingers, she scanned the list of flights listed on the computer screen currently facing away from the two travelers. "Yes, there is a flight heading out in thirty minutes, what class?"

"First," Yassen said, voice hard.

Alex interrupted before their attendant could say anything, "Preferably together…" The attendant looked at Alex for the first time.

Groaning internally, Yassen kept up the act. "Ah, yes! This is my son, it would be nice if the seats were together."

Smiling now, though she seemed a bit disappointed, the lady tapped a few more keys. "Of course. May I have your passports please?"

Yassen pulled them out of his bag confidently. They had been forged quickly, but they had been done well…he had triple checked them himself. "…" he didn't say anything he passed them over the counter.

After a quick glance through, the lady nodded and continued to book their tickets. "There you are, Mr. Dimitri. Do you have any luggage?"

"Only our carry-ons," Yassen replied stiffly. "Thank you."

"Do you get that look a lot?" Alex asked quietly as they walked towards their gate.

Yassen pretended he was looking for something to buy, but all the while scanning the crowd for anybody suspicious. "What look?"

"The one the lady gave you," the Rider continued, reaching up to adjust his sunglasses.

Yassen finally turned to face the younger. He sighed, "Alex, which look? The lady probably glanced at me a dozen times. I don't know which 'look' you're talking about, I wasn't a mind reader last time I checked…which was oh, two seconds ago."

"Sheesh, no need to be so grumpy," Alex mumbled, switching which hand was pulling the suitcase. "I meant…the one that she gave you when…when she blushed…"

Yassen sighed out loud, "…yes," he reluctantly admitted. "But frankly, I just find it annoying."

Alex nodded, "I see."

---------------------------------

When they were safely in the air, Yassen pulled out his laptop again and immediately checked his inbox. Sure enough, there was a message from I. He clicked it and it opened.

C

It's been a while. $#.%##.%##%^^$.)&^*

I

"What's that?" Alex asked, looking over at the screen.

They were sitting in a rather private area considering that nobody else was in the room, and Yassen felt that it was safe that they talk. "While you were sleeping on the train, I contacted my informant, I. And before you start asking, I do not know anything about him…if it is a he… Anyway, we're traveling to Berlin as you know, and-." he stopped as a flight attendant walked past. Lowering his voice and leaning down to whisper in Alex's ear, the elder continued. "We will be interfering with a meeting that MI6 is having with the heads of US security. NSA, CIA, FBI, all the major agencies. We will be staying at a hotel seven blocks away from their predetermined meeting place, so I've set up all that information, but I still have to clarify some things."

Reaching into his pocket, Yassen pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number that was coded into the secured e-mail message. In the middle of the first ring, somebody picked up.

"This is _I_," (no pun intended Lillian ) a robotic voice answered.

From years of working with this person, Yassen was already expecting it. After all, the speaker was probably just using a voice filter. "Hello, I. I have a request."

"What is it?"

"I want the layout, floor plan, and security report on Der Leuchtturm. And if you can, aerial images of the entire area."

"I understand, give me two hours."

"How much?"

"Two grand."

"Understood."

Yassen closed his phone. "Well, looks like I'll have to make some more arrangements."

"What?" Alex asked, curious.

"We'll need more weapons and supplies. I didn't want to take the chance with airport security, but now, I have to contact some old partners. Hopefully they haven't forgotten about me," Yassen said wryly.

-------------------------------

Alex rubbed his eyes sleepily as he sat up in bed wearing only his boxers and a thin T-shirt. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and realized that he and Yassen had checked into the hotel over nine hours ago.

He looked to his right and saw that Yassen was still wake. He was checking over all the equipment that they had picked up. "Do you ever sleep?" he asked, voice groggy and mind not fully awake yet.

"Not when I'm not tired," Yassen said back. "You just rest a little more. These next few days are going to be fun."

--------------------------------

TBC

------------------------------

I know, that was the most pathetic ending in the history of endings, but I'm so tired right now, I feel like I just took, like, 50 sleeping pills (which i most certainly did not), but yeah. I apologize, but I will do better next time. Sadly, I think this fic is starting to wrap itself up. I need to finish my last minute details to the planning, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I'll try to have the next one up within three weeks, but no promises, we'll see!

You know what to do! REVIEW REVIEW REIVEW! ...wow, that rhymed!!!

...and don't forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAKESPEARE!!!


	13. Payback: Part 2

Firstly: Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider, the series, or any characters/ideas associated with the series.

Secondly: **I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY!!!! You do not know how stupid I feel right now. I had this chapter finished two weeks after my last post, and I FORGOT TO UPLOAD IT!!!!!! I read a private message the other day and it said, 'So...you haven't updated in like, three months...blah blah blah' and I'm like what is this person talking about????!!!! And I went and checked and I literally slapped myself in the face 20 times. I'm so sorry guys.**

So, I decided that instead of posting another chapter in like another three months, because I editted the original chapter I WAS going to post (it was so sucky, reading it over) and it took me a while, I just decided to make this the last chapter of the story and make it like 9 pages long. Aren't you so proud?

**Thirdly: THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!!!! I'm already in the planning process, and the sequel will that Yassen/Alex (for those of you who don't get it, it's Yaoi...boyxboy...gay love) I've had a lot of requests for that and I finally feel like I can write yaoi and not make it completely awkward. ^_^ If this offends you or you hate me, please refrain from saying it...**

Anyway, I present to you, the last chapter of A Life of Truths, A World of Lies (and i realise this title has literally NOTHING to do with the story, eheheh) I apologize in advance for any mistakes you might find, I'm sorry.

Chapter 13: Payback: Part 2: the Culmination of Excitement and the Ultimate (sort of) Humiliation of One's Employers

Yassen sat on the edge of the bed, gently shaking Alex awake, "Come on, wake up, we need to go somewhere." He pulled the covers off of the boy in one swipe, leaving the teenager shivering in the middle of the bed.

"Mmmph," the Rider mumbled, burying his head further into the pillows. "Five more minutes…"

Yassen sighed, the boy was stubborn, just like his father, "Alex, please, get up. We need to leave."

"No," the younger whined, covering his head with his arms.

Finally deciding it was enough, Yassen changed his tone. "MI6 is after us, hurry up!" Yassen hissed urgently into the boy's exposed ear. "If you don't get up now, our whole…_my_ whole plan will go down the drain!"

Alex shot up in bed as the elder handed him clothes and his pack, a smirk threatening to spread across his face.

Throwing on a long-sleeved shirt and some sweats over his boxers, the Rider ran around the room stuffing his belongings into the pack. "When will they be here?"

"They're were already checking in with the clerks down below when I woke you up. Hurry." Yassen too was picking up files and papers, he efficiently stacked them carefully among all the useful junk that he had brought with him and cleanly packed up before Alex, despite the slight head start. "Let's go. Are you sure you have everything?"

Alex nodded tersely, zipping his bag shut. "Let's go."

--------------------------- at MI6 headquarters ------------------------------

Alan Blunt rubbed his eyes and sighed softly as he threw the report down onto his desk in frustration. "Mrs. Jones, come up here right now, I need to discuss something with you in private," he paged his assistant.

The director of the British secret service was currently on edge. With the disappearance of Alex Rider, and not just that, his disappearance with the recently resurfaced Yassen Gregorovich! It was blasphemy!

A short wave of static sounded loudly before Tulip's voice filtered though, "Understood, I'll be up in two minutes."

Blunt glanced at the clock, the countdown had begun. In three days, he'd be leaving for the Der Leuchtturm, in Germany to meet with heads of United States Intelligence. It would be a historic meeting, they would be discussing issues that had never been brought up before, namely, organizations that they previously had avoided: Scorpia, the Liason gangs, Jalin.

The door 'dinged' as Tulip Jones walked in, the air around her permeated with the smell of peppermints. "Good evening, Alan. Why don't we get straight to the point, we've both got things to do."

"Very well, Tulip," Blunt said, business like, all traces of weariness gone. The true professional, even in front of his most trusted co-worker, and friend. "I have traced Gregorovich's credit card number, under the name of Dimitri, of course, and he has recently checked into a hotel not too far from the Der Leuchtturm. It cannot simply be a coincidence…"

Mrs. Jones nodded gravely, " I agree…Yassen must have used some of his contacts to track our communication records… But that shouldn't be a problem, we could just move the meeting spot at the last minu-"

"Tulip, that would mean we have played into his hands! It would be an embarrassment to MI6!" Blunt interrupted forcefully.

"So, you care about pride more than safety?" the woman countered with equal ferocity. "Fine! If you insist, I'll just tell everybody to tighten the security then."

Blunt ground his teeth audibly, "That wouldn't make a difference for Yassen… The thing that worries me is that he didn't bother to get a new I.D. Why would he, a trained assassin, formerly near world's number one hit man, be so careless as to forget to get a new credit card under a different name? The only reason I can think of, is that he wants us to find him, he wants us to be alert. He's toying with us."

Mrs. Jones's eyes narrowed, "That, and what of the influence he has over Alex?"

Blunt sighed, "Alex's actions are beyond our control now. You are going to have to accept that he left by his own free will."

"I want to hear it from him in person," Jones demanded.

"That is what I was getting at," Blunt agreed. "If we continue to have the meeting, no changes, we can catch the two and see what they're up to! Basically, we, the directors, will be the bait and Yassen and Alex will be the fish. They'll come, but we'll be ready."

Mrs. Jones clenched her jaw, "Alright, sounds promising. How far away are they from Der Leucchturm?"

"About a three hour drive through the countryside," Blunt said, reading from his report.

"Alright, I'll get the preparations going," Tulip started, getting up to leave. "I'll have a team ready by tonight. If everything works out, they'll be there by tomorrow morning."

"Very well…" Blunt paused a second, before continuing. "…Did you…by chance, ever locate Wolf and his team?"

Jones froze by the door, "Yes actually, that is what we were attending to before you called me up…they're in a sorry state, I'm sad to say."

Frowning, Blunt nodded his head towards the door, "Fine, go debrief to them, I'll take care of the plans."

------------------ back with Alex and Yassen-------------

"I thought you said they were coming!" Alex pouted, glaring at Yassen incessantly as he sat in the passenger's seat of the speeding car.

The elder glanced at the teen calmly, "Would you have gotten up otherwise?"

"I would have," Alex defended, "…eventually…"

A soft chuckle was Yassen's response. The boy was still young, after all… "I'm sorry, Alex. You can sleep now."

The soft tone made Alex pause, _'…what if MI6 really was coming and I didn't get up? Would Yassen be imprisoned just because I was too lazy to cooperate?'_ The Rider gazed at the elder's face, it was focused and calm, the face of someone who knew what they were doing. "No…" he finally said, watching the scenery fly by out the window, "I think I'll be fine…"

After a while, a thought struck Alex. "Weren't we staying seven blocks from the predetermined meeting place?"

Yassen smirked, "Yes, that's correct."

"So…why are we driving so far out?" the younger inquired.

"That took you a while, didn't it?" the Russian teased. "The building is literally completely isolated, there's a highway that passes about 30 miles from it, so it's still in reach by car, but the press and publicity would be kept out. The place we were staying at, was the closest town to it…seven blocks away from it."

Alex frowned, "So, when we get there, what are we going to do with the car?"

"Now you're catching on," Yassen praised. "We're just doing a scouting mission today. Get a good view at the place, a drive by sort of thing."

"And how do we know that MI6 isn't already stationed there?" Alex continued.

"They are." Yassen said matter-of-factly.

Alex raised an eyebrow, "So, you want them to know we're here…or…they already do…" The Rider's eyebrows furrowed, "When you checked into the hotel, you were still registered under Dimitri, right?"

Yassen smiled, genuinely proud of the teen for figuring it out by himself, "Exactly, won't it be more fun if we had a bit of a challenge?"

Alex snorted, "I think you've bit off more than you can chew with this one…"

"Well…we'll see…"

---------------at Der Leucchturm: 2 hours and 48 minutes later-------------

"Base: I have a visual," a man said into the speaker attached to the collar of his shirt. "I repeat, I have a visual."

"Copy," another voice responded in his earpiece. "Transport?"

"Black Mercedes."

"Is it alone?"

"Yes, two people inside from my scope."

"License plate?"

"…they have some type of…reflector on it…can't pick it up…"

"Roger, just watch them, but keep a close eye on them."

"Understood, sir!"

-------------------in the car------------------------

"Alex," Yassen ordered softly, "Do you see the place clearly?"

The Rider nodded, Der Leuchtturm was a slightly dilapidated two-story building with frosted windows, probably bulletproof, and obvious renovation. The doors were new, as were the windowpanes and roof. "Yeah…"

"Alright," Yassen continued, "see that video camera in front of you?"

"Uh huh," affirmed Alex.

"I want you to inconspicuously, inconspicuously Alex, I know that's not always your style, but please, turn it on and face it towards the house as the highway loops around, alright?" Yassen ordered softly, very much unlike how he was towards his employees during the Stormbreaker incident.

"Roger that," Alex smirked. Casually reaching up, the quickly turned the camera on, and slowing focused in on the building. "So, you think they've got people watching us?"

The Gregorovich nodded towards a screen on his dashboard. "Look for yourself."

Alex leaned over, head almost touching the elder's shoulder, to see what Yassen had been glancing at. He gasped, "It's a FLIR infrared camera!"

"Very good, see the two dots in the center?" Alex nodded, and Yassen continued, "That's us, over to the top right corner, the three red dots, those are the lookouts."

"And what's with all the pink and that big red dot?" Alex inquired.

"The pink is probably due to the electrical and mechanical implements in the building, and the big dot is probably a heating or ventilation system," Yassen guessed.

"I see," Alex smirked, sitting back in his own seat. Reaching forward again, he carefully adjusted the video, zooming in as close as he could and discovered that the image didn't get any grainier. "This is some video camera," he breathed.

Yassen laughed, "Top of the line, cost me 1.2 million USD, so you better not damage it."

Alex laughed nervously, "Yeeeah…I'll do my best."

---------------------Three hours later---------------------

They were back at the hotel, Alex realized. Yassen was staring at him, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. He pouted, "What?"

"Seems like you fell asleep after all," the elder teased. "Come on, let's get you a real bed."

As the pair walked through the lobby, Alex couldn't help but feel the stares of all the other patrons staying there. He shifted closer to Yassen, whispering into his ear, "Why are they staring like we're aliens from outer space?"

Yassen leaned down, talking equally as softly, "They don't usually get visitors here; all of them are probably regulars."

Alex nodded, looking forward and ignoring the rude looks they received. Once they reached their room however, the Rider vented, "They could have been slightly nicer! I mean, don't they realize how blatantly obvious their staring was?!"

Going to the kitchen, Yassen called over his shoulder, "People around here, in places that are completely isolated, are naturally a little xenophobic, Alex, but you get used to it."

The younger grunted, following the elder into the kitchen. Yassen pulled a bottle of water from the fridge, handing it to Alex. Taking a beer for himself, he asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Nah," Alex responded, shaking his head. They sat down at the table and the younger stared as Yassen took a swig of alcohol. "I didn't know you drank."

The Gregorovich quirked a brow, "I don't make it a habit…"

"I didn't know you drank…at all…" Alex shrugged.

"Alex," Yassen laughed, smacking the younger lightly on the side of the head, "I grew up around the mafia in RUSSIA, how could I not drink?"

The Rider blushed bright red.

The pair sat there for a while, each absorbed in his own thoughts. After a few minutes thought, Alex glanced at the ex-assassin. "Yassen…" he began softly.

Setting down his beer, the Russian met the younger's gaze, "Yes, Alex?"

"I was wondering…" the Rider mumbled. "Could you…tell me something about my father?"

Yassen was silent for a few moments, and then he sighed, "Later, Alex, after this whole fiasco is done. I'll tell you then, I promise, ok?"

"Alright."

--------------------------The day of the meeting - 1:37 hours-------------------------

Alex and Yassen were crouched on top of Der Leuchtturm. 'I' had sent them the schematics and cross referenced them with the video that Yassen had sent him…or her… Yassen had to admit that MI6 had outdone themselves with this project, as far as security went, but there was a single blind spot from the security cameras installed there that they managed to utilize to its potential. Well…technically, there were many considering they didn't have cameras on the roof, a very stupid decision.

'I' had hacked into the MI6 database and found the list of gadgets that the team posted in the building was supplied with. The supply list didn't include infrared or thermal cameras, goggles, or scanners of any kind.

They had a helicopter bring them in to about three miles in, making sure to keep the noise level down to a minimum, they had to walk the rest of the way. Alex had to say though, he didn't mind. The thrill of being on a mission never eluded him, and being with Yassen only added to his excitement.

As they neared the building, Yassen had gone first, climbing swiftly up the stonewalls, which were uneven with large slabs protruding here and there. A swift bug sweep showed that there were no sensors on the roof. Although it was pitch black, Yassen pointed a laser pointer at himself, drawing a circle on his chest, signaling to Alex that the coast was clear.

Not a minute later, the Rider joined Yassen on top of the building. "Now what?"

"Now, we wait," Yassen said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Wait and hide. There's a storage closet at the east end of the building, I think that'll do for the situation."

Finding the closet wasn't hard, it was actually used for maintenance, so there was roof access. Smirking, Yassen pointed his flashlight at the switches in the maintenance box before him. _Lights. Door locks. Plumbing. Sprinkler system._ They were all there. No doubt, there was a sister box somewhere in the building, but amidst the chaos that Yassen was planning, nobody would be in their right mind to think of finding it.

After the two of them had rearranged some crates and boxes and finally got to settling down, it was cramped, enough said. Both of them had carried a backpack of water balloons, and Yassen had warned Alex not to pop a single one. So, giving as much room for the backpacks as possible, Alex ended up squished between Yassen's legs, face literally buried in the elder's neck.

The younger blushed, "Sorry about this…"

Yassen shifted slightly, "Don't worry about it, you can just go to sleep for now."

Before long, against his wishes, Alex's head was resting on the Russian's shoulder.

--------------------The day of the meeting – MI6---------------------

"Are you sure the area is safe?" Blunt asked for the umpteenth time.

"I'm positive," Jones snapped. "The recon squad checked the perimeter half an hour ago. They'll be posted on both floors of the building along with lookouts outside. The roof has already been inspected, but the leader doesn't feel that it's necessary to post someone up there."

"Fine, I'll take your word for it," Blunt sighed resignedly. "How much longer to the drop off site?" They were riding in a helicopter with Wolf and his squad. The pilot was instructed to fly to a spot about five miles from Der Leuchtturm and a driver would drive them the rest of the way.

"About an hour."

---------------------Half and hour ago-----------------------

Yassen tensed, causing Alex to stir and wake up. "Shh, don't make a sound," the Russian whispered so softly in his ear the he almost though he'd imagined it.

Laying his head back down on the elder's shoulder, he controlled his breathing as they heard footsteps near the closet. The door was forced open and a light shined in.

The closet itself was quite large, but it was crammed with so much junk that it might as well have been tiny. Yassen had cleared out an area with shelves piled all the way up in a wall around them, making it impossible to spot them unless the security moved the shelves to see what was behind it, highly unlikely.

Once again, Alex was thankful for Yassen's genius with organization and planning. After a few seconds of looking, the security guard left, closing the door with a bang.

When the footsteps had disappeared for a full minute, Alex breathed normally again. "That was close…" Wrinkling his nose, Alex huffed, "It's getting stuffy."

"Just a bit, there's a ventilation shaft right above us, but it's all dusty and caked with dirt. It let's in enough air though." Yassen informed. Leaning his head back against the wall, the Russian sighed, closing his eyes briefly.

Alex didn't miss the action. Wriggling around a little, trying to get some blood back into his cramped muscles, he whispered, "Did you sleep at all?"

Cracking an eye open, the elder reached up and smoothed down some of the odd strands that stood up on the Rider's head. "An hour or two, enough to keep me awake."

Suddenly, something vibrated against Alex's left leg, causing him to flinch.

Yassen chuckled softly, "Would you grab my cell, Alex?"

"U-uh…sure," reaching out, he quickly retrieved the vibrating cellular phone and handed it to Yassen.

Holding it so Alex could see, the elder checked his messages. Sure enough, there was a text from 'I':

C:

Our satellite images show no guards on roof.

I'll have somebody there when the meeting ends to pick you up.

They should be there around 17:00 hours.

I

Short and too the point…but never the less, in complete sentences, Alex almost gagged. But restrained himself as Yassen wrapped his arms around the younger so he could reply back.

The Gregorovich's fingers were nearly flying over the full keyboard, and Alex's jaw nearly dropped:

I:

Ttyl, thx.

2 pkgs.

C

"You text?" Alex questioned, shocked.

Snapping the phone shut, the elder cast a withering look at the Rider, "I'm not that old yet, you dunce. I do try and keep up with technology, you know."

"Still…I think that just totally shattered my bad-guy-turned-good-guy image of you…"

------------------------Der Leuchtturm – 16: 58 hours-----------------------------

Mrs. Jones followed Alan Blunt down the corridor as he strode out towards the entrance, extremely annoyed. That annoyance was portrayed in his abnormally fast, but normally stiff walk. "I cannot believe those stubborn American idiots!" he seethed through his teeth. "They wouldn't listen to a word we said!"

"You can't help that Ala-!" Jones had opened the door in order to exit, but was greeted with a rather interesting sight. K unit was pushing back a hoard of reporters, photographers, and journalists who had all managed to arrive at Der Leuchtturm during the meeting. "I thought this was supposed to remain OUT of the papers, Mr. Blunt," she whispered in her superior's ear.

"I thought so too."

-------------------------On top of the roof – 16:55 hours-----------------------------

Yassen smiled as the unzipped his backpack and carefully took out the water balloons. "It's amazing what a little tip to the press does," he casually said to Alex, who was also removing their projectiles from his bag.

"Hn," the younger smiled. "So, your grand plan is to publicly humiliate them by dumping water balloons on their heads?"

"Sort of, you'll see. But first, put these on," Yassen took out two masks. On was a happy face and one was a sad face, both immensely comical. "You take Mr. Happy –- no, and not just because I don't want to wear it, I'm sure you'll be happy when you see what happens."

Reluctantly taking the hideously colored bright purple mask, Alex slipped it on. "Whatever, let's just get ready."

They didn't have to wait long. Their arms loaded with water balloons, they saw the doors open directly under them and Tulip Jones and Alan Blunt walk out and just stand there in front of the crowd. A quick glance at each other and bombs away. Without letting Alex see what happened however, Yassen pulled the younger back as chaos erupted two stories below.

Pointing into the sky, Alex saw and MI6 helicopter gradually lowering itself towards the building.

Seeing the confusion in the Rider's eyes, Yassen yelled in his ear over the din, "That's our ride, it's a replicated chopper! You go first!"

"What about you?" Alex shouted back.

Yassen was already heading towards the maintenance closet, "I'll be right back."

Alex refused to go without Yassen though and waited until the elder reemerged from the closet, running back to where the chopper was.

They clambered up the rope dangling from the open door and were pulled into the helicopter. The pilot took off the moment Yassen was fully in, not willing to risk being caught by police or secret service.

"So," Yassen asked as soon as the doors were closed and the noise level died down. "How was it?"

Alex grumbled, "You didn't let me see what happened!"

The Russian laughed, "Here," he pulled out his laptop, "Read it yourself."

As Alex carefully took the portable computer, he almost dropped it in shock. As he saw the picture on the screen, it dawned on him why Yassen had been so careful with the water balloons, they were filled with paint. Tulip Jones and Alan Blunt were standing there, in shock, covered with a rainbow of colors from head to toe. "What type of paint is that?" Alex asked excitedly as soon as he had regained his voice.

"Spray paint," Yassen smirked, sitting down next to him so he could read the report as well. "It'll take a heck of a long time for that to fully come out."

"…_heads of MI6 drenched in paint from mysterious masked attackers on the roof…Chaos ensues in 'The Lighthouse', United States guests soaked as all alarms went green…' Report filed: 15 seconds ago…"_

'_Ah, so that's what he went to do,' _Alex smirked remembering the different switches. Then, he laughed, he couldn't help it, it was just too funny. Unable to erase the absurd image of Blunt and Jones covered in paint, and the heads of the CIA, NSA, and FBI running like children to get away from the sprinklers, the Rider turned to Yassen, a smile still on his face, "Thanks…for all this, I mean…it was exciting."

Ruffling the teen's hair, the Russian snorted, "Isn't everything you get involved in exciting?"

Shrugging, Alex closed the laptop and gave it back to Yassen. "Where are we going now?"

"Now?" the elder asked, putting the PC back in its case. "Now, we're going home before your housekeeper decides to put a bullet in my head."

"I think that'd be a good idea…"

----------------------------on the airplane back to London------------------------

They were sitting in business class this time, apparently first class was all filled up. "Ivan," Alex grimaced, using their code names just didn't sound…right… "Can you tell me more about my father?" he asked in a hushed tone.

Yassen was silent for a minute.

"Please?" he added.

The Russian sighed, "I don't think you're ready to know the most part yet…Alex. But I will tell you this. Your father and I…I've known him since I was seventeen. He was a great man, Alex, now that I know the truth I see the full extent of how great he was. And he loved you, very much so. I remember…after Helen had you, he told me about it…and he seemed happy, happier than I'd ever seen him before…"

"But what about Scorpia, what was he like there?" continued Alex.

Yassen smiled sadly, "He…was like any other trainer there, the only difference was that he was a thousand times better than the rest. He saw my potential and he utilized it. We trained for years and years, and gradually, he became more than just a mentor or a teacher to me… your father… he was my best friend, almost like a father figure…and maybe even more that that…" he added wryly.

Alex raised a brow, "Like…family?"

"Y-yeah…something like that," nodded Yassen, clearly uncomfortable. "Why don't you go to sleep now, Alex, I'll wake you up when we get to London.

As the younger fell asleep again on his shoulder, Yassen recalled his years together with John, the memories he had suppressed were bubbling up again…all because of John's son, this boy, Alex Rider…

----------------------------London-------------------------------

"Alex, wake up, we're here," Yassen said, grabbing their bags from the car. The teen had fallen asleep in the long car ride back to Jack's house. On the way, they'd stopped by the hotel to pick up the outfit that Yassen had purchased before they went to Germany. _'My gift to you,' _he had said.

Nudging the teen gently, only to find he wouldn't wake up, the Russian shook his head with amusement. Setting the bag down, he took the boy into his arms and carried him to the door.

The door swung open literally seconds after he rang the bell and the Gregorovich was greeted with a samurai knife pressed to his throat.

Jack's hair was disheveled, her clothes rumpled, and her makeup smudged, but nevertheless, her eyes were piercing. "What have you done to Alex?!" she spat through gritted teeth, tears forming in her eyes.

Shifting the teen slightly, Yassen whispered, "You might not want to do that, he's only sleeping, you know…"

Alex, awakened by Jack's voice, opened bleary eyes and found himself being carried, CARRIED, by his former arch-nemesis! Scrambling out of the elder's grasp, he hastily straightened his clothes and smacked the Russian on the side of the head. "You bloody idiot! You'd said you'd wake me up!"

Rubbing his head and pinching the Rider on the cheek, Yassen smiled, "Well, I tried, but you wouldn't open your damn eyes!"

"Well, maybe you needed to try harder!" Alex countered.

"STOP! Stop this instant!" Jack interrupted pointing the sword right between Yassen's eyes. "Give me answers, right here, right now."

This was the first time Alex noticed that Jack was there, "Jack…well…uh…can we go inside first?"

"No, Alex, I want to know why you're with this…this MURDERER!" Jack screamed. "Give me answe--"

"Please, Miss Starbright," Yassen interrupted. "We need to get inside, you're attracting attention."

Alex nodded and Jack reluctantly opened the door to them, her eyes trained on  
Yassen's movements. "Ok, you're inside, now spill, Alex. Why are you with this thing?"

Yassen looked scandalized and Alex snorted, "H-he…well, he was helping me get revenge on MI6…"

Jack still had not lowered the weapon, "Did he…hurt you at all?"

"Nope," Alex smiled, reaching up and taking the sword from her and giving her a tight hug. "I'm sorry to have worried you…"

Hugging the teen back, Jack buried her face in his hair, "I'm just glad you're safe…my god! Where have you been? You smell horrible!"

Yassen laughed as Alex handed him the sword and rolled his eyes. "Goes in the living room in the display cabinet." As Yassen walked away, the Rider turned back to Jack, "We kind of went to Germany…"

"But why? Why did you go?" Jack pleaded, her eyes leaking tears.

"I…" Alex paused. "I really don't know. I guess I just wanted an adventure…the prospect of beating MI6 just seemed to appeal to me… and also, Yassen knew my dad, he spent years with him! And I was just curious and…yeah…I guess it was sort of a spur of the moment kind of thing."

Nodding reluctantly, and wiping her tears away, Jack gradually calmed down, "So, was it worth it?"

Alex smiled, a smile that reached his eyes, "Totally."

"Well then, I'm not such a horrible babysitter now, am I?" Yassen drawled from the end of the hall. "Go upstairs and take a shower, Alex, and after that, you can finish your nap."

"I do not _nap_," Alex retorted. "Do you realize how uncomfortable it was to try sleep curled up in a ball? I was making up lost sleep, not napping!"

"Fine, take a shower and finish _sleeping_," Yassen reiterated.

As Alex trudged up the stairs, Jack turned to the Russian. "You, me, talk, now…and maybe some coffee."

--------------FINISH------------------

Lol, long chapter, long title, gotta love it.

**So, if you haven't yet, I demand that you scroll up and read the author's note. If you are interested in reading the sequel, please place me on your Author Alert!**

**It's so sad to see this story go...but I love you all, thank you so much for supporting me during my horrible bouts of writer's block, and to those of you who have reviewed *huggles*, you guys are my life. 3**

**Please watch out for the sequel, I'd really appreciate it if you put me on Author Alert so you can read, review, and critique me on my writing~**


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